Harvest Moon: The Forgotten Promise
by halwaffles
Summary: 15-year-old Claire had the best summer of her life with Rick a long time ago. But after a forgotten promise, how will she feel when she meets Rick in Mineral Town? Claire x Rick (I changed the rating from K to K-plus for very mild violence).
1. The Meeting

Hey guys, so this is my first fanfiction! I'm extremely excited and nervous to share this story with y'all; I really hope y'all like it! This story was one I had actually posted before on my YouTube channel, but then I took it down because I wasn't really certain I wanted to continue on with it. Anyway, I hope to update relatively often, but honestly, I don't know at this point. Anyway, enough blabbering from me. Enjoy!

!

Lillia sighed, arising concern from both Rick and Popuri "Is everything alright mom?" Popuri asked. Lillia turned away from the window.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. I'm just thinking about how glad I am that winter is over." Both Popuri and Rick relaxed slightly at her explanation, though neither sibling believed her in the slightest.

"It will be especially nice when summer comes," Popuri exclaimed excitedly, prompting a look of confusion from Rick.

"I thought that you hated summer. You always complain about how hot it is," Rick said. Popuri blushed, "I-I think th-the flowers are the p-prettiest in the summer," she stuttered. Rick quickly realized she was lying. If someone else had been listening, they wouldn't have noticed, but siblings always have a way of telling that something isn't quite right...

"Don't tell me-" Rick began.

"Rick, it's not what you think…" she said, quickly turning away from her brother and silently praying that he wouldn't push the subject any further.

"It's Kai isn't it?!" Rick cried in an infuriated tone. "Popuri, we've been over this!" Popuri lost her patience.

"Yes, we have Rick! I don't care what you think, Kai is a wonderful guy, but you wouldn't know that because you couldn't be bothered to get to know him!" Popuri shouted back.

"Rick, Popuri…" Lillia began in a warning tone, but neither of the siblings heard her, too engrossed in their argument to notice.

"I know enough about Kai to know he's a bad influence and a terrible person! Popuri, all he's going to do is toss you away when you don't please him anymore!" Rick cried.

"YOU ARE JUST JEALOUS THAT I LIKE SPENDING TIME WITH KAI MORE THAN I DO WITH YOU!" Popuri screamed.

"ENOUGH!" Lillia yelled, causing the siblings to look at her in absolute shock. Lillia stumbled backward, and Rick flew to her side, carefully helping her to a rocking chair nearby.

"M-Mom?" Popuri asked. Lillia sighed. "I'm tired of hearing you two fight about this. It hurts me too much to see you both so angry at one another. It reminds me too much of…" her voice faded away. Rick and Popuri turned away in shame, remembering the vicious fights that their mother and father got into about him leaving to find a plant to cure Lillia's illness.

"We're sorry mom," Rick apologized.

"We really are," Popuri chimed in.

"Please, just promise me you'll both try your best to not fight about this anymore?" Lillia pleaded. The siblings looked at each other, before reluctantly nodding. Rick left the house to go and tend to the chickens, while Popuri shuffled around the kitchen to prepare breakfast with Lillia.

The bell on the door chimed. Popuri whirled around. "Hello!" She greeted kindly.

"Hello," the visitor replied. The woman was dressed in blue overalls with a plaid shirt. Her blond hair bounced wildly when she walked, greatly exaggerating her movements. "I apologize if I'm intruding-" she began.

"You're not intruding at all," Lillia interrupted. The girl smiled appreciatively.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. My name's Claire, and I recently bought the rundown farm near here." Lillia and Popuri blinked.

"Really? That's amazing!" Popuri exclaimed.

Claire blushed slightly, "It's nothing really." Popuri shook her head.

"It is a very tough job taking care of a farm all on your own." Lilllia nodded in agreement.

"Oh, where are my manners, my name's Popuri." Popuri reached out her hand, shaking Claire's. "This is my mother Lillia." The two of them shook hands. "Sorry, my brother is out taking care of the chickens. I'm sure you'll see him around, though."

Claire shook her head. "That's alright, I need to get going anyway. It was very nice meeting you!" After a quick wave, Claire began walking out of the house when she bumped into someone at the door.

"I'm so sor-" Claire's voice faded as she looked at Rick. Both of them looked at each other in awe as recognition flickered in both of their eyes. Claire gulped. "H-Have we met before?"


	2. In the Past

Hey guys! So, this is the second chapter of Forgotten Promise! I honestly don't have much to say, so enjoy!

!

 _Many years ago…_

"Mom, what was grandpa like?" Claire asked as she brushed Bessy, the Star Cow. Pony, (who's birth name was Jill, but had changed her name when she turned 18), stopped brushing Gill, the Star Bull.

Claire nervously brushed a strand of her light brown hair, (which had been black when she was born), out of her eyes. "I-It's just that you never talk about him," Claire stuttered nervously. "Whenever I ask Takakura about him, he just tells me to ask you."

Pony smiled sadly at her daughter, and smoothed a strand of hair that feel out of Claire's low ponytail. "You remind me of him." She paused for a moment. "He was very gentle, but also hardworking and ambitious." Pony's eyes became distant as she continued to speak, her eyes sweeping over the lush grass of the pasture. "My father's life wasn't easy. Both he and Takakura both had to endure years of verbal and physical abuse. When they turned 18, they ran away from home, seeking refuge in a remote valley, where they knew their parents couldn't find them."

Claire stared wide-eyed at her mother, soaking in every word she spoke. Pony turned to face her daughter. "It was there they developed a farm from the ground up with a small plot of land to work with." Claire's mouth formed an 'o'.

"Refuge Farm," she murmured. "Our farm!" Pony nodded.

"They had been here for 10 years when your grandfather met your grandma. She was just a traveler from the city passing through, but your grandpa was entranced. What originally was meant to be an overnight stay for her turned into a year-long vacation." Pony began to frown slightly. "They knew that they were going to marry each other. Unfortunately, they couldn't agree on where to live. Your grandpa wanted to continue living here, but your grandmother was adamant about living in the city. After arguing about it for a long time, your grandmother finally convinced him to move away, though not without a tremendous amount of heartbreak." Claire felt a lump form in her throat as Pony's face adopted a sad expression. "Of course, Takakura, being his brother, was more than willing to continue taking care of the farm, expecting his brother to retire here in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Unfortunately, that was never a reality, causing Takakura to have to sell all of the animals when he wasn't able to take care of them anymore."

Pony sighed quietly. Claire gulped, "But then you eventually came here." Pony's head lifted to look at her daughter. "I can't help but feel that you were destined to come back here at some point," Claire said. "It was here you met dad, and then you had Mark, and then you had me," Claire finished, grinning.

Pony smiled. "Yes, that's true."

She looked over at the small crop fields to see her husband taking care of the banana trees. "That brings back memories of when I first met your father. My goodness, he was such an intimidating person. He frowned all of the time, and just seemed to continuously mope about how his life was so terrible because he had to move away from the city for his health!" Marlin's head shot in Pony's direction.

"Hey, I heard that!" Both Pony and Claire laughed. Claire glanced at her watch.

"Oh, I gotta go mom. I'll see you later!" Claire almost started to sprint towards the fence, but Pony blocked her path.

"And what in the name of the Harvest Goddess are you leaving for?" Claire huffed, annoyed.

"I thought I already told you! Mark needs me to pitch at the ball game that's being held! Now, if you excuse me, he's counting on me to be there!" Claire tried to hop the fence, but Pony grabbed her shoulders.

"Not so fast young lady! It gives me no pleasure to say this, but you'll have to miss this game." Claire's head shot up. "What?! I can't miss it! Mark's counting on me!" Pony sighed.

"I'm sure he'll make do with what he has. I need you to stay here with me because we have a Poultry Farmer from Mineral Town coming here to check on the chickens."

Claire's heart started pounding. "Are the sudden changes in their behavior serious?" Pony folded her arms as she closed her eyes.

"That's the thing, I don't know. I've never dealt with anything like this before. I figured it's best to have someone with more experience take a look. I need you here to fill him in on what's been happening." Claire's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Ok." Pony smiled and ruffled her hair a little.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Ms. Pony?" A gentleman's voice inquired. Both Pony and Claire turned around to meet a blonde-haired man.

"Yes, I am she." Pony said, shaking his hand. "I gather that you must be Mr. Rod. It's a pleasure to meet you." Claire noticed a younger male standing beside Rod. "Rod, this is my daughter, Claire." Claire shook the man's hand shyly.

"I hope that it isn't an inconvenience, but I brought my son here with me today," Rod said gesturing towards the young male. He reached out is hand towards Claire.

"It's nice to meet the both of you. My name is Rick."


	3. A Friendship

Hello again! I just wanted to quickly say that I'm not sure when I'm going to post Chapter 4, as until this point I've had a rough idea of where I want the story to go. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and enjoy!

!

Claire observed the valley in peace while she sat on the small hill by Aunt Vesta's farm. Supposedly an old man used to live here a long time ago, but now only two gravestones remain there. Claire recalled many stories that her mother had told her about Nina and…who was it again? Galen. Yes, Galen. She remembered quiet clearly the admiration Pony had shown for their strong relationship with each other as a couple, and while Claire hated to admit it, she wished for just as strong of a relationship as well. Her thoughts were interrupted by the presence of another person.

"Hello, Claire." The boy said.

Claire looked at him thoughtfully, "Hi, Rick, what brings you here?" Rick sat down beside Claire.

"I saw you sitting here alone, so I thought I'd come join you." Claire was slightly taken aback by his explanation.

"Well…that was very thoughtful of you," she commented. Rick grinned slightly.

Claire tried to rack her mind for anything to talk about. "So, how did it go yesterday? My mom said that your father wasn't sure of what was going on and said that the both of you would be staying here over the summer."

Rick nodded. "Yeah, you've got a unique case that we've never seen before." Claire nodded, unsure of what to say next. Luckily Rick spared her.

"So, I guess to start off with the basics, how old are you?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow slightly.

"15," Claire replied automatically. She turned to him, "You?"

He laid back, "Just turned 16 a couple days ago."

"Well, happy belated birthday, I guess," Claire responded awkwardly. Rick laughed.

"Thanks."

A minute of silence dominated their conversation. "W-what's your favorite color?" Claire stuttered. Rick gave her a puzzled look. "Well, you asked me my age, I figured it was my turn to ask a question."

"Touché," Rick replied, sitting back up. "I guess it would have to be green. It reminds me of the plants the local farmer in Mineral Town grows." Rick seemed distant as he spoke, quickly snapping back to reality when he finished. "How about you?"

Claire blushed slightly. "Blue. It makes me think of the ocean. I often go to the beach to gaze at it in my free time."

Rick nodded. "I'm not surprised, the ocean looks beautiful here. It makes me think of the ocean back home." Claire nodded.

"What's Mineral Town like? I've heard a lot about it, but I've never been there." Rick raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it's pretty big compared to Forget-Me-Not. I mean, the town is more developed. There's also access to a mine there. Two mines during the winter." Rick paused.

"There's only an excavation site here," Claire observed, slightly in awe of what she was hearing.

Rick nodded. "Yeah, I met the professor and his assistant when I was exploring today." He chuckled lightly. "I got a little confused when the professor introduced himself as he has the same name as the priest in Mineral Town." Claire laughed along with him.

"Tell me more about Mineral Town," she said eagerly.

"Well, there's a big farm there that has a lot of cows, sheep, and chickens. The owner there has an award-winning horse too. I can't count how many festivals he's won with his animals. And his crops! They're truly amazing! They're practically sold out once they reach the shelves!" Claire frowned slightly, turning away from Rick.

"What's wrong?" Sudden realization dawned upon him. "Oh, I'm sorry." He blushed, feeling bad about what he said. He didn't intend to make Claire feel that her family's farm was lesser than the one in his hometown. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way." Claire shook her head.

"It's fine, I guess I'm just an overly competitive person!" She said, giggling. Rick chuckled.

"You wouldn't be alone, I'm terrible when it comes to competition!" The both of them laughed.

As the sun continued to set in Forget-Me-Not Valley, Rick and Claire continued to converse, getting to know every quirk and secret about each other. Before they knew it, it was twilight, and Claire's worried mother was calling out for her daughter. "CLAIIIRRRE! CLAIRE!" She called out. Claire checked her watch and gasped. It was 9:00 pm. She scrambled up from the ground and blushed deeply.

"I'm sorry, I gotta go!" At that, Claire rushed away to meet her mom, leaving Rick alone.

He didn't know why, but he grinned at the small scene, and couldn't help but think Claire looked cute when she—wait what? Rick shook his head. That was an odd thought. He carefully got up and headed to the Inn with Claire in his mind the entire time. Rick couldn't help but anticipate his next meeting with her, as she turned out to be a very interesting and kind girl, not to mention she was pretty easy on the eyes. Well, looks weren't too important to Rick, but he had to admit she looked very cute. When he reached his room, his father was already asleep. He tiptoed to his bed and fell asleep once his head touched the pillow.

!

"Claire, we were worried sick! You must be more responsible about checking the time!" Pony scolded as she walked a distracted Claire back to the house. "Claire, are you even listening to me?!" She demanded. Claire seemed to snap back to reality.

"Hmm? Yes, I am." Pony folded her arms.

"Then what did I just say?" Claire blushed.

"Uhh, could you repeat that for me? You were talking so fast…" Claire's voice faded as Pony sighed.

"Just don't let this happen again. If you want to stay out late, that's fine just tell us first." At that, Pony walked back into the log house. Claire lingered, glancing behind her.

Claire felt a little guilty about lying to her mom, but she couldn't help but be distracted the entire time. For some reason that darn boy wouldn't leave her mind, and she had no idea why. Not only that, but she was praying that they would meet again soon. Claire was completely and utterly puzzled at her thoughts. Finally, she shook her head, deciding to sleep on it. As she ate her cold dinner, she couldn't help but smile as she thought of the conversation the two shared, wondering if there was something more that would happen between them.


	4. Haunted

Hello! Sorry that it's been a couple days since my last chapter! I recently bought HM: DS Cute and HM: Magical Melody! I've started playing DS Cute, (which I've had a lot of fun playing btw), so I haven't been as focused on writing. Thankfully my gameplay has given me some inspiration for this chapter, so at least I won't have to face writer's block for another chapter. Anyway, enjoy!

!

"Rick, would you please start eating?" Popuri said. Rick looked at Popuri, but he was unable to see her. All he could see was a heartbroken blond that he had met a long time ago. He would never forget the sadness he saw in her eyes when she saw him when they bumped into each other this morning.

"Rick!" Popuri shouted. He snapped out of his daze, the image of Claire fading into a very agitated Popuri. "Goddess you have not been yourself at all today!" Popuri commented. Lillia didn't utter a word as she spooned the noodles into her mouth, carefully studying Rick with her watchful eyes. Rick gulped, and finally began digging into his dinner.

"Anyway mom. I was talking to Karen today," Popuri paused and threw a suggestive glance in Rick's direction. Rick didn't notice her gesture, too overwhelmed by his own thoughts. "…and she invited me to eat dinner at her house tomorrow. Is that alright?" Lillia smiled. "Yes, of course." Popuri grinned. "Also, she said that you're welcome to join us, Rick," Popuri added, turning to her brother.

"Rick? Are you even listening to me?!" Again, Rick finally snapped back to reality. "Yes sis?" Popuri folded her arms. "Did you even hear what I just said?" Rick shook his head, causing Popuri to sigh in frustration. "I just said that you're welcome to join me at Karen's house tomorrow for dinner!" Popuri shouted, expecting Rick to immediately say yes.

"Ah, I don't think I'm going to join you tomorrow. Tell Karen thanks for the offer, though." Popuri's eyes widened at her brother's response. Rick stood up, his plate still 3 quarters full. "Please, excuse me." Rick wanted nothing more than to dash out of the house, but restricted himself into a swift walk, taking a big breath of air when he was outside in the night air.

The door creaked as it opened behind him. "Popuri, I really don't feel like talking right now." Rick said. "I'm honored that you think I look so young," Lillia mused. Rick stumbled back, whirling around. "Mom, you should be inside! It's too cool out for you!" Lillia folded her arms. "I'm sure a couple of minutes of _fresh_ air wouldn't kill," she responded. "Besides, I think my son has some explaining to do. Don't think I didn't notice what happened this morning." Rick sighed, knowing he couldn't wiggle his way out of this one.

"Mom, do you remember when I traveled with dad to Forget-Me-Not Valley many summers ago? And how I told you I met this amazing girl? Remember that?" Lillia nodded after thinking for a moment. "I'm guessing Claire was that girl?" Lillia finished. Rick confirmed her thoughts with a quick nod of his head. Lillia nodded, staring off into the distance.

"It seems that you shattered the poor girl's heart." Lillia said. Rick blushed in shame. "I…broke a promise that I made to her," Rick said slowly. "I don't know what I was thinking; I shouldn't have listened to Kai…" his voice faded away as he became choked up. Realization dawned upon Lillia's face.

"So, whatever promise you broke to her, Kai had something to do with it?" Rick could only nod in response. Lillia opened up her arms to Rick. He hesitated before embracing his mom, feeling the warmth and comfort dissolve into his body.

"I'm not going to make you explain whatever happened to me; that is something for the two of you, and the two of you alone," Lillia said as she pulled away. "All I will advise you to do is give Claire some space. I'm sure that it must be a bit of a shock to see you here after what happened. And knowing my own race, she probably won't want to see you for some time." A lump formed in Rick's throat as he nodded to his mother's wise words. Her face wore a sympathetic expression.

"Don't worry, it won't be long before she'll come around." At that, Lillia walked back inside, leaving Rick alone. He gazed out into the distance, catching a small glimpse of the farm that Claire owned. What in the world could she be thinking about right now?

!

Claire sat in her bed with her eyes wide open. The unexpected reunion with Rick had her mind going wild. She didn't know what to feel anymore.

After they bumped into each other, Popuri, (being totally oblivious to the situation), took the pains of introducing the two. From the looks of it though, Lillia seemed to understand that something was amiss with Claire and Rick, but Claire didn't have any way of knowing if that was true or not. Claire was able to manage a hurried goodbye before dashing out of the house and back to her farm, completely discarding her plans to introduce herself to the rest of town. For reasons she didn't know why, when she reached her farmhouse, she collapsed onto the floor and sobbed. Even then she didn't know if she was sobbing out of relief or grief.

Now, the moment replayed in her mind over and over, not allowing her the peace she needed to go to sleep. It amazed her how little Rick's looks had changed since the last time they saw each other. How many summers ago had that been? 9? Yes, 9. Claire's heart sank at the number. It has been 9 summers since he broke the promise. Approaching 10 summers now.

What hurt even more was the realization that Rick had forgotten about her. Tears formed in her eyes. She had come to Mineral Town in search of a fresh start as well as refuge from her unmeaningful life in the city. How could she accomplish that when a large remnant of her past was there to haunt her?


	5. The Gift

Here is chapter 5! It took me a while to write this chapter because I didn't know whether to focus on teenage Claire and Rick in this part or adult Claire and Rick. Anyway, I also want to quickly thank SaintSeleene for the very kind reviews! It really excites me to get the feedback I'm getting on my story! Anyway, enjoy!

!

Claire groaned as the alarm clock sounded. She lazily reached out and began aimlessly trying to slap the button to turn it off, but she kept on missing it. Finally, she sat up and slammed her fist on the button to give herself some peace. The clock read 6:00 am; right on time.

Claire began shuffling about the farmhouse, (which was only one room at this point), getting ready for the long day ahead of her. After she ate a quick breakfast consisting of bread and jam, she changed into her overalls and plaid shirt and went outside to water her crops, which were beginning to sprout out of the ground at this point.

She had many plans for the day, including starting to clear out more of the field, and also going foraging for grasses to sell. Claire was currently saving up her money for a chicken so she could start selling some eggs. Hopefully she would be able to afford a cow and a sheep soon, if everything went according to plan.

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone shouting her name. Claire stopped watering her turnips and turned around to see Rick standing at the edge of the field, panting. Her eyes widened, unsure of how to react. Her body tensed up.

"Hello, Claire," Rick began awkwardly. Claire gave him a curt nod. She then noticed the little yellow animal he was holding in his hands. "Uhh, I'm sorry to bother you at this hour, but I thought…I thought you might like to have chicken. Well, actually she's still a chick. Think of it as a welcoming present of sorts…" his voice faded as Claire's body physically relaxed. Claire managed a small smile. "That was…very kind of you. Thank you…Rick," she replied awkwardly. She walked up to Rick, and he handed her the small quivering body. Claire couldn't hold back a smile at the cute little creature.

"I also have some complementary bird feed for you, but it's still at the store. Anyway, you might want to take her into the chicken coop." Claire nodded, staring at her chick. "You also might want to name her. Chickens often grow better when they have a name to respond to," Rick suggested. Claire pondered for a moment. "I think I'm going to name her, Peep." Claire declared. Rick nodded, and led Claire to the chicken coop, giving her a couple of instructions before going to get the bird feed from the shop.

When he was out of sight, Claire slumped against the wall of the chicken coop, exhaling shakily. She wasn't pleased to see Rick, but at the same time, she was incredibly lucky to get a free chicken, especially since she wouldn't have to worry as much about saving up for one. At least though the welcoming gift had probably been Lillia's idea, and maybe she sent Rick to deliver Peep. Claire relaxed at the thought that this wasn't an excuse for Rick to see her.

"I'm back," Rick announced. Claire whirled around, startled. "Sorry, anyway, here's the bird feed. Make sure to feed Peep every day, or else she could get sick." Claire nodded, already aware of how to take care of a chicken. Rick paused, unsure of what to say next. "Thank you for everything Rick. I guess I'll see you around?" Claire said, finishing the conversation. Rick hesitated a moment before nodding. He lingered a couple of moments before leaving the chicken coop, leaving Claire alone.

!

"Where did you go, Rick?" Popuri inquired suggestively. It was a Monday, and Popuri was well aware that Rick and Karen often sat with each other outside of the Supermarket to talk, as they were good friends, though Popuri knew that Rick was hoping to eventually become more than friends with her.

"Hmm? Oh, I was actually at the farm." Popuri blinked, slightly dumbfounded. "What? But, you and Karen…" Rick stared at his sister. "To be honest, Popuri, I've moved on. Karen wasn't interested in dating, and I'm not going to wait for her to change her mind." Rick's words caught them both by surprise. Rick wasn't sure if that was how he really felt, yet they seemed to spill out of him like he'd been meaning to say those words for a long time.

Popuri's face sank. "I thought the two of you be perfect for each other…" her voice faded. She shook her head, "Anyway, what were you doing at the farm?" Rick hesitated, "Uhh, I thought it would be nice to give Claire a welcoming gift of sorts. And what better gift to give a new farmer than a chicken?" Popuri's eyes widened. "You gave her a free chicken?" "Well, it was a chick, but all the same, it can take a while to make enough money to buy a chicken, so I thought I'd help her out." Popuri began to walk inside. "Alright then…did you discuss this with mom?"

Rick rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ahh, yes?" Popuri turned around. "Goddess, you didn't discuss this with mom, did you?" Rick reluctantly nodded. Popuri gasped. "Rick! This isn't something you can just do out of the blue! We're running a business here!" "Well, people won't want to shop here if we don't have good customer relations!" Rick retorted, coming up with the response on a whim. Popuri froze, and then silently strode towards the door. "You're still going to have to discuss this with mom though." At that, she left Rick outside, dumbfounded.


	6. The Request

Hi again! Woohoo, another chapter! Again, I want to thank SaintSeleene for your wonderfully kind reviews, it means a lot, especially for a person with more raw writing skills than most! Anyway, enough with the fluff and puff, here's the chapter!

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"That one looks like a chicken to me," Claire said as she pointed to a particular cloud formation. Rick chuckled. "Claire, everything looks like a chicken to you!" Claire sat up and stuck her tongue at him playfully. "That's so ladylike of you," Rick commented, prompting an eyeroll from Claire.

Rick finally sat up, "I think I've had enough cloud watching for the day." Claire nodded in agreement, and the both of them got up as the sun began its descent, marking the late noon hours. The both of started heading towards the small forest nearby Forget-Me-Not Farm.

"What are both of those stones for?" Rick asked as they walked towards the forest. "There used to be a particularly old couple that lived here: Nina and Galen," Claire paused, and stopped walking. Rick stopped as well, cocking his eyebrow in confusion at Claire's sudden sad expression.

"According to my mom they had a very strong relationship with each other," Claire began walking again, becoming distant. "Unfortunately, Nina died after my mom's first year here. Galen became pretty reclusive because of what happened. She says that when he died years later, it was from a broken heart."

Rick nodded. "Did you know them?" Claire's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No, but I wish I did. All I have to know them by are the stories that my mom relates to me and their gravestones."

"Don't take this the wrong way, then, but why do you seem so attached to them?" Rick inquired. Claire stopped walking. The only sounds they could hear were the peaceful rush of the river next to them and the cheerful twitter of the birds around them. Claire looked around quickly before speaking.

"Rick, I've honestly never really talked about this to anyone before. I know we haven't known each other long, but…you've become a really good friend to me, in which case I think I can trust you to understand." Claire studied him carefully as she spoke. Rick nodded encouragingly. She took a deep breath.

"I've always wanted to know that I will be able to have as strong of a relationship with someone that Nina and Galen had with each other. It's hard, though, because here in the valley, there really aren't that many guys my age. I don't know what I'm going to do later on in life, so it's hard to know if I'll be stuck here, or if I'll get the chance to leave…" Claire's voice faded as warm arms wrapped around her body. She stiffened for second, before relaxing in Rick's arms.

Neither one spoke, understanding that no words were needed. For reasons, she didn't understand at the time, butterflies began fluttering in Claire's stomach. Either way, Rick let go of Claire after a minute of soaking in each other's warmth. He blushed slightly, "I-I'm sorry if that was sudden, but my mother has always said that if you don't know what to say to comfort someone, just give them a hug."

Claire grinned mischievously, "Really? That's pretty cheesy, even for you." Rick faked a hurt look. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. A huge smile crept on Claire's face as she began to hurry away from him. "Where are you going?" Rick asked as he started chasing after her. Claire just grinned even larger and took off into a sprint. "You'll have to catch me to find out!"

!

"Mrs. Ruby, this is absolutely amazing! You truly are a talented cook," Rod praised as he ate the soup Ruby had made for dinner. Rick silently nodded in agreement as he ate. Ruby blushed, "Oh, no, there are plenty of people who are better cooks than me. But I appreciate your compliments."

Rod and Ruby continued to chat over the dinner, while Rick began staring at a random place in the kitchen of the inn, thinking about Claire. "Rick?" His father asked. "Hmm?" He responded, turning to look at his father. "I was just asking how your day went. I've been so busy working with those chickens at the farm that I haven't had much time to chat with you."

"Oh, uh, it went great, dad. I've been hanging out with Mrs. Pony's daughter, Claire, quite a bit lately, actually." Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? She's such a sweet and hardworking girl. It's too bad there aren't more people in the valley her age." Ruby shook her head sadly. "The only person even close to her age is her brother, and even then, that's hard for her."

Rick was a little surprised. "Mrs. Ruby, if you don't mind me askin-" Ruby put her hand up. "Please, just call me Ruby." Rick nodded. "Well, Ruby, if you don't mind me asking, why is it so hard for her?" Rod gave Rick a warning look, causing him to sink in his chair a little.

"You see, the farm can only be inherited by either her brother, or herself. Unfortunately, it's too small to support the both of them once they grow up and start their families. Since Mark is the oldest, and plans on continuing in the farming career, he'll be the one to inherit the farm. It was heartbreaking to Claire as she really loves the farm." Ruby sighed. "Ever since the decision was made, Claire just hasn't really been as devoted to the farm as she used to be. She hasn't found a direction in her life. What makes it worse is that she doesn't really feel like she has anyone to talk to about it." Ruby sighed again, shaking her head. "Anyway, that's not really something I should talk about here. Would the two of you gentlemen like seconds? I have plenty of leftovers."

!

"Rick, would it be ok if I talked to you for a second?" Ruby asked as Rod and he were about to trudge up the stairs to their room. Rick looked to his father, who nodded. "Yes, ma'am." She motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but what are your thoughts on Claire?" She asked quietly. Rick gulped, beginning to blush. "I think she's pretty cool," he said. "She's really nice, and pret—I mean she's just overall a good person," Rick finished, flinching slightly. Ruby nodded. "As I said during dinner, she's been kind of lost recently, with no one to talk to. I was hoping that you would take extra care to be her friend?" Ruby said, the words tumbling out of her mouth.

She covered her mouth, embarrassed. "I know it's not my place to meddle with anything, but the two of you seem to click together so well, I just want her to find herself. But she won't be able to do that on her own." Rick listened to her pleading words, unsure of how to respond. Of course, he wanted to help, but...what could he do?

"I don't know what I could do Ms—I mean Ruby. I mean, it's not like I have much experience with this." Ruby nodded understandingly. "You don't think you do, but you do. I know that from experience." Ruby gasped. "So, that means you'll help then?" Rick hesitated for a moment before nodding. Ruby smiled, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you very much!" She looked at the clock. "I think we've spoken long enough. You should get to bed." Rick said goodnight to her and headed through the curtain that separated the kitchen and the lobby and started climbing the stairs to his room, the smell of spice steadily becoming fainter. He was careful to not make any sound as he walked into the room he shared with his father, and carefully pondered the conversation he had with Ruby until he fell asleep.


	7. Chores

Woohoo, chapter 7! I honestly don't have much to say except thanks for the kind reviews, and also that I'm going to be starting driving courses next week, so I'm probably not going to have as much time to write as I normally do. Then again, since they're only two hours, it shouldn't really hinder my progress, but I thought I'd mention it while I still had the chance. (My dog is watching me as I type!)

Also, quick disclaimer since I mention Separate Ways by Journey, I DO NOT OWN THAT SONG!

!

Claire hummed "Separate Ways" as she swept the barn. Unfortunately, Baden, (the oldest bull on the farm), became disgruntled the night before, and had decided to unleash his wrath on the fodder bin, spraying it all over the room. Thankfully it was a sunny day out, so the animals were able to be sent to the pasture so Claire could clean up.

Claire was less than pleased when she was assigned this chore, as she already had plans to meet up with Rick at the inn, but Mark was going to the city with Takakura to learn how to sell things at market, and her parents had their own things to attend to. Her humming was interrupted by a knock on the barn door. Claire looked at it questioningly, since it wasn't a common practice. "Come in?"

Rick shyly entered the room, his eyes widening at the messy sight. "Hey." Claire nodded in greeting. "Your brother, ah, told me that you wouldn't be able to meet with me today, told me what happened." Claire blinked in surprise. "Well…that's uncharacteristic of him." Both just stared at each other awkwardly. "No offense, but what are you doing here, then?" Rick rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I thought I could help you, if that's alright."

Again, she blinked in surprise. "As much as I don't want to make you do these chores, I don't think I can do them myself." She gestured towards the tool shed. "You'll find a broom in there." Rick nodded, and began sweeping once he got a broom. After about 30 minutes, he took a small break, leaning on the pole of his broom.

"You'd have thought it was a bull in a china shop!" Claire grinned. "Yeah, Baden is quite the…grumpy one." Rick raised his eyebrows. "That's one way of putting it. More like a pain in the- ""Please don't cuss." Rick threw his hands in the air jokingly. "Well he seems like he is."

Claire just shook her head. "You have _no_ idea. We've been trying to sell him for months, but he won't budge if we try to drag him out of the barn. If he doesn't stop, we'll probably be forced to put him to sleep." She shook her head at the thought. "I'd be a waste of money."

After about another hour, they finally finished sweeping. Claire looked over at Rick fondly. "Thank you. It would've taken me all day to sweep had I not had your help." Rick nodded. "It's no problem, anything for you." Claire blinked. It seemed that Rick wasn't aware of what he had just said, so she quickly decided not to say anything about it. In all honesty though, Rick knew perfectly well what he had said, or more _accidentally_ said. He was glad that Claire didn't seem to notice.

"Wanna go sit down?" Claire asked, motioning to some boxes in the corner of the barn. He nodded, wiping sweat off of his forehead. Once they sat down, they remained silent for about 5 minutes, relishing in the work they accomplished. A burning question in Rick's mind made him break the streak.

"If you don't mind me asking, why couldn't Mark clean up the barn?" He asked delicately. Claire sighed, "Takakura had already planned to take Mark with him to the city so he could learn how the market works for when he inherits the farm. I argued that since he'll be inheriting it, he should be the one to do it, since Takakura could take him to market any day, but as per usual they didn't see my reasoning." Rick glanced at Claire to see her turned away from him.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Claire looked at him with tears in her eyes. Rick blinked, unsure of how to react. "Hey, don't cry. What's the matter?" He asked soothingly, carefully taking Claire in his arms. She didn't make any sound as the tears flowed from her eyes; she just buried her face in his chest.

"I'm tired of being treated as if I am just a shadow to my brother. I've done a lot for this farm, yet they don't seem to care about that. They didn't when they decided to give 'Perfect Mark' the farm. I've put more heart and soul here than they know." Rick listened, pondering what to say to her.

"Hey, listen to me," he lifted her face to look at his, "sometimes things don't go our way in life. That's just the price of living in it. The thing is, just because you don't think you can win the race doesn't mean that you should stop competing all together." Claire's eyes began to shone slightly at his words, her mouth forming a little 'o'. "Claire, I know this farm means a lot to you, but you shouldn't stop caring for it because you won't inherit it. This place is your legacy whether it's yours or not. How do you want to be known to your nieces and nephews? A quitter? Or the person who continued to give this place as much heart and soul even when they knew it wouldn't be theirs?" Rick stopped, completely shocked at what had just happened. Claire stared at him, her mouth gaping open.

Rick gently placed his hands on her face staring deeply into her eyes. "Claire, I know you're not a quitter." She gazed back into his, time seeming to stop altogether. The two of them remained in this position for what seemed like a small eternity until they heard Pony approaching the barn. They scrambled up from the boxes just as she opened the door.

"Well, how is the sweeping…" Pony's voice faded as she saw the spotless floor of the barn. "Claire! How did you finish that fast?" Pony exclaimed, quickly noticing Rick's presence. "I, uh, had a little help, mom." Pony nodded to Rick in gratitude. "Well, thank you Rick. That was very gracious of you." She looked at the room in awe. "Well, I guess I don't have anything else for you to do Claire so…you're free to do what you like." Pony exited to the doors that led to the pasture to tend to the farm animals.

Claire and Rick exchanged a look, before realizing that they were holding hands. They immediately let go. Rick silently walked away from Claire, heading towards the doors. When he opened there, he lingered in the doorway briefly to get a good look at Claire before leaving her there alone entirely.


	8. Eggs

Hello again! I'm sorry if it's annoying that I always write these little notes before my chapters, but I just want to quickly say thank you for the overwhelmingly positive reviews and support! Anyway, I'm starting to write this at 11:30 at night just after chapter 7, so yeah. Let's do this!

Also, for one of the events that occurs in this chapter, I actually used dialogue that directly comes from HM: MFoMT. I wanted to add authenticity to the scene, so I hope it doesn't mix into the story awkwardly.

Another thing too, the names that I use for the chickens are inspired by the names that I used for my chickens in my file for HM: AnWL.

!

Claire sat on the ground after she finished watering the grass seeds she placed in front of the barn. She had plans to collect rocks to create a fence around them, to create a makeshift pasture of sorts, so then when she bought some animals they could graze outside. Luckily, that dream was close to being a reality, and Claire had to begrudgingly admit that Rick was a huge reason for that.

The free chick had proven to be an invaluable gift, producing high quality eggs when she reached maturity. With the eggs Claire had been able to make a good profit by the middle of Spring, and on course to get a cow and a sheep in the next couple of days.

Claire could only smile at her crop field. All of the hard work the past two weeks had paid off. 8 patches of turnips, (each 3x3 section of seeds she considered a patch), were sprouting out of the ground, and would demand harvesting within the next week or so. She had also rid the field of the weed infestation, which was almost an impossible task by itself, though it had taken her 12 hours to do so.

Claire's smile faded a little when she felt the white envelope poking out of her overall pockets, dread pecking at the back of her mind. "It's in the past," she reminded herself. She pulled it out slowly, and examined it quite carefully. "To Claire, from Mark," she muttered to herself. Claire had been extremely surprised when she had received the letter, as she hadn't yet written to her brother to tell him she had moved to Mineral Town, though she guessed that since Forget-Me-Not Valley and Mineral Town are so close, news would've travelled fast.

She opened the letter eagerly and began rapidly reading the words. It read:

 _Dear Little Sister,_

 _So, there are only two excuses for why you didn't tell me that you went sane again and decided to take over the rundown farm in Mineral Town. 1) You are being you, which means that you're working so hard that you're too tired to lift a pen to write, or 2) News travels to fast. If it's anything else, then you're not excused._

 _All joking aside, congratulations! I guess you decided to follow in mom's footsteps! Despite what you say, you are much more like her than you think!_

 _All joking aside, Lumina and I are doing fine. Your nephew, Mark Jr. is doing great. He's taken quite an interest in the chickens, (like someone I know). Of course, your newborn niece, Chelsea, is a handful, but loveable all the same._

 _So, how are you holding up? I hear that Rick still lives in mineral town,_ (Claire noticed that Rick's name was spelled more aggressively and messy than the rest of the letter), _I hope that he hasn't caused any trouble for you. If he does, don't be afraid to give your big bro a holler. I'm not afraid to come up there with a bat to set his insane mind straight!_ (Claire had to laugh at that).

 _While I'm being serious, I guess I should mention that I polished mom's grave today. It looked like it needed a cleaning, and I figured that since she used to polish Mrs. Nina's grave that I ought to do the same for her, because lord knows she that's the least she deserves for all she's done. Dad's doin' better. He still takes his quiet walks around town, but all the same, he spends a lot of time with the kids, and that seems to make him happy._

 _Anyway, that's all I have to write. I'm expecting a letter soon, or else I'll be forced to come up there and hug you so fiercely that you won't want to leave me again!_

 _Love your favorite brother,_

 _Mark._

Claire smiled as she folded the letter up neatly and tucked it back into her pockets. She knew for certain that despite Rick being in Mineral Town, moving here and taking over the farm was the right choice. The past two weeks have been the happiest weeks of her life, with life in Forget-Me-Not as a close, but inferior comparison. All of the townsfolk are really nice, and all of them have been extremely helpful with her farming endeavors.

As she thought about them, her mind kept on wandering back to Rick, and his family. They seemed to stand out the most to her, especially since they had been so welcoming.

Claire glanced at her watch. It was 2:00. Now would be the perfect opportunity to go and thank them for the chicken. She dusted herself off as she got up, and then proceeded to hop over the "fence", (she was still constructing it), and then strolled off of the farm property towards the Poultry Farm.

!

"Wow, cool." Popuri exclaimed as Claire entered the shop. "They laid many eggs today. Everyone's healthy!" Rick replied with enthusiasm. "I made some Spa-Boiled Eggs, so let's eat them together." Lillia smiled at her son. "Okay."

Claire stepped forward timidly. Rick turned around upon hearing her and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Hey, Claire. Are you shopping with us today?" Rick asked genuinely. Claire nodded, unsure of how else to respond. "Take your time," Rick said, smiling.

An idea popped into his head. "I was wondering, do you like eggs?" Rick asked, inwardly facepalming at the absurdness of the question. Of course, she liked eggs, she loved chickens!

Claire chuckled lightly. "LOVE them!" He blushed, embarrassed. "I knew it! Wait right there." He went to the table and grabbed something from the kitchen table. "Here, it's a Spa-Boiled Egg." Rick handed it to her gently. Claire smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad time, but I just wanted to quickly thank you for the chicken and…I'd like to buy another chicken!" She almost shouted. Claire didn't know why she said that; she was saving her money to buy a cow and a sheep, but her mind decided otherwise.

Rick looked slightly surprised. "Really? Come out back with me then. I'll let you take a look at all of them and pick whichever one you want."

!

Claire carefully sat down Penny next to Peep in the small chicken coop she had created. When Claire had entered the coop, Penny had immediately waddled over to her and rubbed up against her affectionately; there couldn't have been a clearer sign that she was the one.

As she thought about Penny, she couldn't help but stare at the Spa-Boiled Egg, turning it over in her hand. She even tossed it up into the air once, (and caught it), for good measure, (it was actually pretty light). The encounter earlier that day with Rick had been kind of strange, but either way her heart started to flutter in her chest lightly.

Claire was certain it wasn't because she didn't have feelings for him. She couldn't, it was an impossibility after what had happened those many years ago. He had made certain of that. But then again, was it so impossible?

!

"Oh, my goddess, Popuri. I was a blubbering idiot back there. I mean, 'Do you like eggs?' What kind of idiot question is that? Of course, she likes eggs. She freaking raised chickens most of her childhood!" Rick ranted to his sister as they both lounged around their room. Popuri was reading a magazine, and Rick was just tossing a baseball in his hand.

"You're right, you are an idiot!" Popuri giggled. Rick sighed. "I just don't know what happened. I'm perfectly fine one moment, and then the next I'm asking freaking, 'DO YOU LIKE EGGS?'" Popuri just rolled her eyes, putting down her magazine. "If it makes you feel any better, Cliff is worse at talking to girls than you are."

Rick just gave his sister a skeptical look. "Is that supposed to make me feel _any_ better?" Popuri just shrugged. "I could've compared you to Doctor, except I don't even think he understands what a 'woman', is." Both of them laughed.

"I do think it's so _romantic_ that you like her still after all of these years! And the fact that the both of you ended up here, in Mineral Town…oh, it's almost as if destiny is trying to tell you something!" Popuri gushed. She quickly composed herself. "I'm still disappointed that you and Karen weren't a thing. There was so much potential there…" she sighed. Rick just raised his eyebrows at her. "I didn't know that my love life suddenly became yours."

Popuri mirrored his skeptical look from earlier. "Oh, please Rick, don't flatter yourself, it always was. You wouldn't even be able to _talk_ to girls if it wasn't for me." "Oh, yeah, because being raised with a sister _really_ helps!" He retorted playfully.

His sister picked back up her magazine. "Whatever. Now is lover boy all done now? Because I have a magazine to get back to." Popuri smiled mischievously. "And you have a girl to woo over."


	9. Lumina

Chapter 9 is here! It's incredibly exciting to think that I've almost reached 10 chapters! I would briefly like to thank Accidentally The Whole Fanfic for the good writing advice.

Sorry this chapter is short; I actually tried writing this chapter earlier, except that I'm now going to save it for a future chapter. Some good stuff happens in it, so I hope to share it soon!

Anyway, let's get on with the chapter!

!

"Gustafa, who inspires the songs that you write?" Rick asked as the old hippy strummed his guitar. Claire and Rick had been taking one of their leisurely walks as usual when they saw Gustafa outside playing his guitar in his usual spot, leaning against the tree. The two of them decided to listen to him play.

"Ahh, now that my friend, is a long story," he remarked. Putting his guitar down in the emerald grass. It swayed gently in the breeze. "Back when Pony had first moved here to Forget-Me-Not Valley, another girl had moved in a couple months before her. To most men, she was just a snobbish girl, but to me, she was the sun. When other men saw a hideous pixy cut, I saw a ravishing style for her red hair. When other men saw a person with no fashion, I saw a girl with a unique, but breathtaking style." Gustafa continued the speak, no longer aware of Rick and Claire' presence.

"Don't worry, Rick, he isn't going mental," Claire said when Rick expressed concern. He nodded slowly. "If you haven't figured it out already, he's talking about Nami."

"Oh," Rick blushed, "that makes sense."

Claire grinned. "Yeah, I should've warned you about asking that question; he often gets like this when he talks about his wife." Rick chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." The two then stared at Gustafa, who at this point was rambling on about nonsense, still unaware of their presence. They silently agreed to give him some space, and continued on their way to the mansion in town. "I'm still surprised that there's a mansion in this small of a town. I mean, our town is bigger and there isn't a mansion anywhere in it."

Claire shrugged, "I have no answer to that. You could probably ask Ms. Romana about that. Despite her old age, her memory is sharp as an elephant's."

The two began the ascent up the steps, neither one speaking as they approached the fenced garden. "Woah. This is incredible!" Rick exclaimed.

Claire smiled crookedly at his reaction. "Yep, I thought so."

"Claire! It's so nice to see you!" Lumina yelled. Claire turned to see the pretty brown-haired girl run up to the two of them in greeting. "And you must be Rick, correct?" Rick confirmed her with a nod. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She focused her attention back on Claire. "Oh, my goodness I haven't seen you in a long time!"

"I know! How long will you be home from your tour?" Claire asked. Lumina grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm staying here for the rest of the year. I've decided I'm taking a break from touring for the piano. Everyone needs a break once in a while." Claire agreed with her.

"Anyway, I'll leave the two of you alone. I need to go inside to speak with Auntie Romana." At that, Lumina entered the large house.

"Claire?" Mark yelled. Claire spun around to see her brother sprinting up the steps. When he caught up to her and Rick, he bent over, panting. "Have you— _huff_ —seen— _huff_ —Lumina anywhere?" Claire noticed the small bouquet of flowers in his hands. She smirked at him.

"Well, lover boy, she's inside talking to her aunt." Mark's face fell slightly at the mention of Lumina's Auntie Romana. He knew how protective she was of Lumina, so he was always intimidated by her.

"I guess I'll wait out here then." Mark stated. Claire smirked again. There were only two people in the world that made Mark act in a serious manner: Lumina and Ms. Romana.

"Alright then. I'm sure she won't bite though," Claire said to her brother, leading Rick inside. When the two entered, and Rick had taken a moment to become awestruck by the interior of the place, he asked Claire about what had happened.

"Oh, my brother kind of has a crush on Lumina, the girl we met earlier. He always has. Anyway, she's often gone on these tours to showcase her piano playing skills, so she isn't home too often. Mark is always giving her gifts. Even if it's storming out he finds a way to find a pretty flower to give to her," Claire explained. Rick smiled at her explanation.

"That's one way to woo a lady," he replied approvingly. "Though I'm sure by now she must have an entire garden in her room." Claire laughed.

"You have no idea."


	10. The Confession

The long awaited, belated 10th chapter in Forgotten Promise is finally here! I'm sorry for the long wait! I've been doing driver's ed classes, and of course I also had to attend a robotics competition, (which was a lot of fun), this weekend, not to mention I had no idea where I wanted the story to go, (I still don't). Anyway, I've been kind of going through this Peter Pan phase recently, (really random, I know), so I might be writing a fanfiction about that soon.

!

"Claire?"

"Hmm?" Claire responded distractedly. She had been gazing out the window of Lumina's room, drowning in her own thoughts. It was a tad bit difficult to look out from all the flowers that crowded Lumina's room.

"You seem quite distracted…is everything alright?" Lumina studied Claire with concern. Claire nervously swiped one of her grayish-brown strands of hair out of her eyes.

"Could I…talk to you about something important for a moment?" Claire requested quietly.

"Of course! Is that even a question?" Lumina exclaimed. Claire smiled shyly. Of course she would listen. Lumina was that type of person, which Claire would be forever grateful for.

"Alright…" Claire began. She was unsure of what to say. Her feelings have become quite muddy as of late. She had no way of distinguishing her feelings anymore. Claire would lay awake late at night, trying to discern the exact meaning of her feelings, never able to find an answer.

"I've been really confused lately. My feelings are…they have…it's just…" Claire became frustrated. It was proving to be extremely difficult to put to words how she felt.

"You are in love with someone?" Lumina finished gently, touching Claire's arm. Claire's face grew crimson, confirming Lumina's suspicions. She smiled encouragingly.

"I guess you could say that," Claire said finally.

Lumina took Claire's hand carefully. "I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not."

Claire's eyes widened, and her head snapped in Lumina's direction in a flash. "Am I that obvious?" Claire asked, alarmed. Lumina giggled melodically.

"No, at least not to someone who doesn't know you." Claire thought for a moment, before it began to sink in. "Unfortunately for you, the entire town knows you _very_ well."

"Oh my god," Claire put her hands to her head in absolute terror. Lumina stroked her hair kindly.

"You don't have anything to worry about. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Rick felt the same way. You two spend so much time together, it's almost a mystery how the both of you aren't a couple yet." Claire's eyes drifted in Lumina's direction, relaxing at the sight of her encouraging smile. "There's no shame in liking someone. It's a natural part of life."

"I know but…I don't like the thought that everyone in town knows that, with the exception of Rick," Claire replied slowly.

"Claire, you have to remember that we live in such a small, close-knit town, it's almost impossible for everyone _not_ to notice these things." Lumina gazed at a bright red rose that sat in one of the many vases in her room. Her eyes lit up with affection and joy. Claire studied Lumina's expression before looking at the rose, sudden realization dawning upon her.

"You like him!" Claire jumped up and pointed her finger accusingly. Lumina snapped out of her daze, and quickly shushed Claire.

"It is _not_ like that Claire. It's just…" Claire shook her head, not listening to a word Lumina said.

"Don't be feeding me the bull, Lumina. I know that expression. You love him," Claire stated, smiling wide. Lumina opened her mouth to object, before finally bowing her head in embarrassment. Her face began turning pink, and she shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes, I do," Lumina admitted. Claire clapped her hands, and began to squeal.

"Oh my gosh, Lumina! You have to tell him!" Lumina began to shake her head rapidly.

"I can't, it's not a good time to do so…" Claire folded her hands.

"I'm not taking a no for an answer on this one, Lumina. My brother has been going here every day for that past 4 years to give you flowers, even when you were gone. It's time that you finally reciprocate his feelings." Lumina shook her head again stubbornly. "I'm serious about this Lumina. If you won't tell him, then I will."

"You wouldn't."

"You know I will. I always follow through with my promises. This is not an exception."

Lumina pondered for a moment. "That is extremely childish of you."

"I like to think that blackmail is a lot more sophisticated than that."

Lumina began to toss the idea in her head. She didn't want to do it, but at this point there was no reason in _not_ doing it. She sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll do it."

Claire smiled, triumphant. She grabbed Lumina's arm and began dragging her out of the mansion. "Claire! What are you doing?"

"You're going to confess your feelings to my brother. Now."

!

Mark was leaning against the outside wall of the inn, in the shade of the upstairs balcony, conversing with Takakura. Claire and Lumina sat at the well next to the Blue Bar, waiting for Takakura to leave before Lumina confessed her feelings.

After a couple of minutes, Takakura finally left Mark outside alone, walking into the inn for who-knows-why. Claire gently pushed Lumina out into the open, catching the attention of Mark, who immediately straightened up, and pushed himself away from the support of the wall.

"Lumina! I thought you were hanging out with Claire at the mansion?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow curiously. Lumina nervously tucked a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Mark.

"Umm, we were, but I-I wanted to quickly say something to you," Lumina stuttered. Mark stared into Lumina's eyes deeply, all of his attention focused solely on her. She took a deep breath of courage. "I think that at this point…it's pretty obvious that you have feelings for me." Mark nodded, though not confirming nor denying her statement. "I've never really given you an answer on how I feel, and I think it's been long overdue that I tell you." Lumina paused for a moment, almost unable to speak further. "Mark, I love you."

Mark's face immediately broke into a wide grin. He picked up Lumina by the waist and twirled her around, the both of them laughing. Then, Lumina bowed her head to catch her lips with his. Meanwhile, Claire watched the entire scene ecstatically, doing a small dance when the two began kissing. Mark carefully placed Lumina back down on the ground, not breaking contact with her for another couple of seconds. When the two pulled away, Claire ran up to Lumina to hug her tightly. Mark stared at his sister inquisitively, and gave a questioning look to Lumina, almost to ask, "How long had she been there?" Lumina just smiled, giving him the, "I'll tell you about it later," look.

"Congratulations!" She whispered in Lumina's ear. Lumina smiled gratefully. Mark walked up to Lumina's side. "I think this calls for a little celebration. How about a visit to the _best_ place in dining and entertainment?" Mark asked, smiling mischievously. Lumina rolled her eyes. "Alright." Mark carefully hooked her arm with his. Claire quickly waved goodbye to the new couple, and the two walked away arm-in-arm with each other towards the Blue Bar.

When Claire turned around, she saw Rick studying her quietly from the bridge. She blushed slightly unsure of how to react. Finally, she ran into the inn to tell Ruby the good news.


	11. The Proposal

!

"How was town today, Mark?" Claire asked as she washed the dishes. Mark cleared the table off, carrying the dishes to the counter next to the sink. He studied Claire with his dancing eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. Claire sighed.

"I mean, what was it like?" She huffed. Mark leaned against the counter for a moment, thinking.

"To be honest, you aren't missing much, Claire. The people there are all…let's just say they have no sense of humor." Claire chuckled lightly. "I'm serious, I've been there a total of three times already, and I still haven't been able to make anyone laugh!"

"Well, do keep in mind most of them come from a generation with a different sense of humor. If you want to joke with them, you'll need to adapt." Claire stated pointedly.

"Adaptability is my middle name, Claire." She gave Mark a skeptical look only siblings could give.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Mark faked a hurt look, and playfully splashed Claire with some of the sink water.

"Mark! Oh, my goddess!" She then, in turn, took a rag and dumped it into the sink before hitting him with it, causing his face to be dotted with little water droplets.

"Oh, now you've done it!" Mark yelled. The two of them began grabbing whatever cup or utensil they could with enough volume to throw water at the other sibling. Claire squealed and laughed every time she was hit.

"What in the goddess is going on here?" Pony asked, barging into the kitchen. She did a careful 360 of the room, staring at the water-stained walls and her two drenched children. "Oh my goddess! You are 15 and 16 years old! You should be past these kind of…of shenanigans!" She stormed over to the small closet located adjacent to the bathrooms, and threw a mop at Mark, and a rag at Claire. "Clean all of this up, now!" Pony shook her head disapprovingly, and then stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Mark and Claire just exchanged a look before giggling. "Mom seems to be in a terrible mood right now," Claire observed before starting to wipe down the walls. Mark began to carefully mop the wet floor.

"Yeah, she is…she…has been dealing with some sucky stuff lately," Mark responded delicately. Claire raised up her head, turning to face her brother.

"What sucky stuff?" Claire inquired nervously.

"It's nothing Claire, just little stuff. You know how moms are." Mark dismissed, his voice trembling slightly.

"Mark, you're a terrible liar."

Mark stopped mopping, not looking at her. "I heard the two of them talking a couple nights ago, Marlin and Pony." He dropped the mop on the floor and placed a hand to his forehead in frustration. "Money hasn't been so flexible lately, because of the crops failing last year. It seems that we won't be able to pay for the Poultry Farmer and his son to continue staying here for the summer to figure out what's wrong with the chickens." Mark turned to his sister, avoiding all eye contact. "They're leaving in a couple days."

Claire's face looked as if a random stranger had come up to her and slapped her in the face. "Rick never said anything about it…" Claire sank to the floor slowly, felling her world collapse around her.

Mark looked at his sister sadly. He hadn't wanted to tell her this; he hadn't planned to. Mark was keenly aware of how close Rick and Claire had become over the summer, and seeing his sister suffer this kind of heartbreak wasn't something he wanted her to go through. Rick had even brought it up to him, telling him to try and not say much about it.

"He didn't want you to get hurt." Mark struggled to keep his composure.

"But what would I have thought if he just left me out of the blue? I would've thought he had abandoned me, Mark. That's much worse," Claire retorted. "Why is it that I'm the last to know everything? Can't people trust me enough to tell me something that's important?"

Mark sighed. "Claire, it's not that simple. Sometimes people do these things to protect you, you know that?" He looked at her sadly. "I know you'd like to think you could take on the world yourself, without any help, but that's not true." Claire stiffened up at his words.

"Maybe that's true, but maybe if everyone always treated you like you couldn't do anything yourself, you'd understand why I strive to do everything on my own." She rigidly picked up her rag, and then started furiously scrubbing the wall.

!

"You wanted to see me?" Rick asked. Claire stared at the ocean wistfully, not turning to look at him.

"Yes, I'm sorry to call you out so late," she said in an unnaturally calm voice. Rick sat down next to her hesitantly, sharing the view under the moonlight. A minute of silence passed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rick didn't react in a way that betrayed surprise. He figured Claire would find out at some point. "I didn't want to crush you," he answered simply. Claire's head shot in his direction.

"It would've been nice if you were honest with me, about the whole thing." Fire began to rage behind her eyes.

"Claire, sometimes you have to accept that people won't tell you everything." He glanced at her. "You're brother often tells me that you try to act like you can handle everything yourself, when it's apparent that you can't. We both agreed to not say anything about it to _protect_ you." He felt her eyes become extremely enraged. "No human can take on everything themselves," he added.

Claire's eyes softened. Tears began to well up in them, and she quickly swiped them away. Finally, she gave up and let the tears flow freely, not uttering a single sob. "My parents barely let me out of the town. How will we see each other?"

Rick gently held her face in his hands. "Claire…" Rick couldn't think of what to say, which made himself become embarrassed as he held her face awkwardly for a continuously extending period of time. "We may not be able to see each other, but…if fate brought us together, I'm sure that fate can bring us together again, hm?" Claire still looked at him with the same teary expression. "Claire, you are the most amazing person I've ever met. I mean, even if you try to take on the world yourself, it's still admirable. I've never met anyone so fiercely independent, and it's not like I could let go of someone like you, because I've never met anyone like you."

Claire's tears began to fade, as she digested his words. "Rick…"

"Claire, this has been the best summer of my entire life. And I…" Rick's face somehow managed to turn even more crimson than it was, "And I want to spend my life with you."

At his word, Claire's expression twisted into one of shock. "Rick, what are you—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Rick placed a finger to her lips. A random breeze picked up. He gently took hold of her dainty hands, and got down on one knee.

"I know that I don't have a promise ring or anything, but Claire—would you, when you turn 18, be willing to marry me?"

The entire event was surreal to Claire. He was—well he was basically proposing to her. Oh my…

Claire slid down onto her knees in the sand, and stared into Rick's eyes. "I would do so gladly."


	12. Kai

**Author's Note:** Hello world! So, it has been quite a bit of time since I've last updated. My apologies for that. I plan on eventually taking the time to edit my previous chapters, as I've progressed a bit in my writing skills since I've started this fanfic.

I'll stop babbling now so you can read. Enjoy!

!

 _A week after Rick and his dad left Forget-Me-Not Valley…_

"Rick!" A boisterous voice called. Rick had been walking to the beach alone before the voice called. He turned around to see it was Kai, in his usual purple garb. "Hey, what's up man? Why didn't you tell me you got back a week ago?"

Rick didn't respond at first and just smiled at his best friend. "I just forgot," he replied. "I've had a lot on my mind recently."

Kai cocked his eyebrow in his usual boyish way. "Oh, do I sense some hot, steamy, and juicy romance troubles," he teased lightly. Rick chuckled.

"Something like that actually."

Kai's expression immediately switched from a relaxed face to an expression of utmost seriousness. "Wait really? I never thought you would ever take an interest in girls! This one would have to be extra special to get your attention."

"She is," Rick stated.

"So, who's the lucky lady? Let me guess: she's blond, short, blue eyed, wears overalls, tomboy, independent, adores chickens, and has never been outside of Forget-Me-Not Valley," Kai said with a mischievous smirk dancing on his face.

Rick blinked in surprise. "You've been talking to Popuri, it seems, or else you wouldn't have described Claire perfectly."

Kai shook his head. "Had I not been talking to Popuri I wouldn't have known that you made the dumbest mistake you have in your entire life. Rick, you've yet to explore the sea of fish swimming around you. And this Claire hasn't either, from what I understand. You can't promise to marry her; she's absolutely _starving_ for attention, dude. By the time you re-enter her life, she'll have forgotten about you and already have started dating the next eligible male that smiled at her," Kai scolded.

Rick's light-hearted face turned into a frown. "Kai, I'm not like you. I want to settle down and have a family at some point in my life. Something in my gut tells me she's the one. You like to explore your options; I like to love when I find it. I've never met a girl like her in my life. And I don't plan on letting someone as special as her go."

Kai shook his head with a look of disbelief, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Rick, you're just seventeen. You're getting committed to things you aren't ready to follow through with. By the time she's old enough to marry you, it will have been 3 years since you last saw each other. That's a long time to wait, and plenty of time to forget. You should be happy to remember this as just a summer romance and nothing more."

Rick shrugged off Kai's hand. "If that's what you think then I think it best that I don't stick around you. We obviously have different priorities."

Kai seemed shocked at Rick's coldness. "Dude, we've been best friends since we were babies. You really don't mean that?"

Instead of responding, Rick turned around from the direction he was going and began walking home. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write to my future wife."

!

 _One week later…_

Rick walked towards the mayor's house for his daily retrieval of mail. He used to hate when Lilla asked him to do it, but now he relished every single trip; he couldn't wait to hear from Claire.

When he reached his house, he knocked on the door lightly. The mayor opened the door, blinding Rick with the saturation of red he wore. "Good morning Rick. Are you here to pick up the mail?"

"Yes sir."

The mayor shuffled to the back of his home to pick up a single envelope from the table it sat on. "Here you go, only one letter I'm afraid."

Rick took a quick glance. His heart leapt when he saw the address it came from, though he hadn't been expecting a letter.

"It's no problem sir, I was expecting this one," at that he hastily took the letter and almost entirely forgot to say goodbye to the mayor before racing home. However, he was so impatient to open the letter, he decided to go sit on a bench to read it.

 _Dear Rick,_ (Rick had to smile at Claire's beautiful handwriting.)

 _You don't truly mean that, do you? That was so cruel of you to say those things about me!_ (Rick's face fell in confusion.) _I'm not a desperate…well I refuse to say the rest of those words in case this letter reaches hold of your mother or sister. You should be ashamed of yourself! I was ready to marry you for the Harvest Goddess' sake!_

 _You have broken my heart in such a terrible, immature way! I want absolutely nothing to do with you! Don't write to me ever again!"_

 _With complete displeasure,_

 _Claire_

A lump formed in Rick's throat; he felt like his heart had been torn out of him. What happened? Whatever letter she got, that couldn't have been from him. He would never call her a "desperate" anything.

Sudden realization dawned upon him. Rick got up calmly from the bench, taking a moment to shut his jaw tightly before running towards the beach with a splurge of intensity never exuded by him before.

!

Rick burst into Kai's shack, seeing the Karen talking with Kai with her usual, annoying, bubbly self.

"So, then I was like, well why don't you do the dishes! You were the one to make the mess, not me! And she got so angry at me you have no idea!" Karen finished her story, making Kai and her chuckle. Kai looked up from the counter and smiled in greeting at Rick.

"Ah, Rick! It's nice to see you here. I thought you were never going to show up," he said in an upbeat tone. His smile faded slightly when he noticed the determined expression on his face, making his smile look more desperate than anything else. "Uh, Karen, could you give me and Rick a moment alone please."

Karen turned around to glance at Rick briefly before silently leaving the shack. Whatever it was, she knew she didn't want to have any part of it.

Kai closed the door after her before shutting it tight. "What's bothering you man?"

Rick tackled Kai. "WHAT DID YOU SAY? WHAT DID YOU SAY TO CLAIRE?!"

"I didn't send Claire anything!" Kai protested as he tried to scramble away from Rick. He had never seen Rick this livid _or_ violent before. That tackle left an unpleasant impression on him, and he didn't want to be around with Rick long enough to find out the other impressions he could leave.

Rick blocked Kai from leaving before grabbing his collar. "YOU WROTE TO HER AND I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!"

"I did you a favor!" Kai yelled. "Goddess, dude! You were making a complete idiot of yourself! Now thanks to me, you'll never have to worry about seeing her again! You need to chill out!"

Rick gritted his teeth, trying to gain composure. "You had no right to do what you did! You only think about yourself!" He paused, straightening his back. "Don't ever talk to me again. And you stay away from my sister, far away. I don't need flipping playboys like you associating with her."

Kai just raised an eyebrow defiantly. "You're just clouded by anger. You'll be crawling back here asking for forgiveness by tomorrow morning. And if not that, you're sister will be hauling you over here."

Rick walked up towards Kai, staring him down. Without another word, he punched him square in the face, knocking him over, before walking out, a storm cloud of emotions lingering over him.


	13. Heartbreak

**Author's Note:** Hello you lovely people! So, I guess I'm picking back up the story again after my extended leave. I'm still refamiliarizing myself with the material so it will probably be a little slow trying to update and (possibly) finish the story.

Also shout outs to _funkiegator_ for the reviews and giving me the motivation to continue this material.

I hope you enjoy!

!

Claire swept the barn in deep thought. The moos from Ol' Bess, (the calf she had bought a few days ago), echoed in the distance, doing little to distract her however.

Claire's thoughts weren't settled on the present. They were fixed on a simpler time, the carefree summer days she spent when she was 15 with a boy she _thought_ she had made a connection with. And then the rejection.

She would never forget that day.

 _Three weeks after Rick left Forget-Me-Not Valley_

Claire had created a new habit of taking long walks around town, (mostly to the spots that she and Rick had visited most), always carrying a pencil and paper to write her letters to Rick on. She always felt the most inspired to write to him in these places, pouring her heart in each letter. After all, they were technically engaged now.

That particular day, she sat underneath the tree next to Gustafa's place. He wasn't around, which meant he was probably having lunch at the inn with Nami and Ruby. Claire wasn't bothered by this, as she liked having the space and privacy to write these letters, especially since she hadn't spoken to anyone about what had transpired except for Lumina and Mark.

"Wait, what?!" Mark exclaimed, dropping the bucket of water he was taking to put in the trough. "He _proposed_ to you?"

"Oh, my goddess, Claire!" Lumina, said, mirroring a similar reaction.

Claire blushed and nodded. "Yes. Sort of…well it depends on what you mean. The expected timeline of events is still hazy at the moment. All he asked was if I would marry him when I was old enough, so—"

"Stop your babbling Claire! You just accepted a marriage proposal from the love of your life! I'm so happy for you!" Lumina crushed Claire with a hug. Mark just stared at Claire like she was psycho.

"I don't know, something sounds fishy to me. I mean, the two of you aren't even adults yet. You're 15. You're too young to be making these types of commitments," Mark stated.

Lumina glared at him. "Oh hush, you saw the connection they had. You would have to be blind to think that they aren't meant to end up together. This is destiny at work."

"But Lumina, if this was destiny then why did Rick have to go away?" Mark retorted. "I'm just saying, I'd be tentative about the situation for now, Claire. Coming from a 17-year-old male perspective, we often times make commitments that we can't follow through with. We can be impulsive." Mark paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "You're my little sister and it's my job to protect you. I don't want to see you get hurt. Besides, 18 is a bit young to be getting married anyway."

Claire nodded understandingly. "I get it Mark; however, I truly think he was being sincere. We've gotten to know each other intimately over the summer. And if we feel we aren't ready due to age, we can always postpone it."

Mark shook his head with disbelief. "Well, just don't mention this to Mom or Dad, please. I don't know how receptive they would be of this…surprising news."

Claire smiled. "So, we have your blessing?"

Mark again shook his head, "Sure. Just as long as I have free reign to take care of him if he does something stupid to hurt you." Claire and Lumina rolled their eyes.

How ironic that only three weeks later Claire's life would change for the second time that summer.

Mark jogged up to Claire with an envelope in hand. "Claire, here's a letter from your beloved."

Claire looked up in confused delight. "I wasn't expecting a letter today. What a pleasant surprise!" She smiled as she carefully took hold of it and pulled it out of her brother's hand. Mark shook his head at his sister, a small smile on his face.

He still wasn't certain about his sister being engaged thing, but he did know that Rick made her happy, and at this point that was all that mattered to him. Mark believed that once the two grew older they would probably postpone getting married till they were older; they were both too smart to make such a commitment to each other at such a young age.

He was about to leave when he noticed something was wrong. Mark's head whipped back to his sister to see her hands trembling and tears streaming down her face. Her face was contorted into an unimaginable expression of complete confusion and misery.

"What's wrong? What did he say to you?" Mark asked, scrambling to her side and reading the letter. Claire became mute, only handing the letter to Mark.

 _Dear Claire,_

 _I'm writing this letter to you to tell you that I made a mistake. I enjoyed my time with you this summer, but upon thinking I realized that the only reason I did was because I felt pressured into it by Ruby. She asked me to be a friend to you since you were lonely. I had no intentions of ever making you fall in love with me, but you were such a desperate ***** that you did. Since I realized the situation I decided to create the charade that I felt the same way as entertainment because I didn't have anything else to do and you would be looking for me anyway. That proposal was a joke, and it's too bad you are so desperate to have believed me._

 _I'm sorry that you're so pitiful, hope you become less pitiful._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Rick_

Mark could scarcely believe the words he was reading. This was _not_ the Rick that he had known, not even the Rick that Claire had talked about. This was almost someone else entirely.

"I'm going to go to Mineral Town to beat his—"

"Please don't!" Claire managed to wail in her tears. "I can't handle that right now," she blubbered.

Mark's mind was going a million miles a minute. He almost, (in a sick way), felt that this was going to happen, but never to this magnitude. This was unspeakably cruel. His sister wasn't one to simply cry when faced with social adversity. When she cried, it was serious. And he could see why.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled as he held his sister. Claire cried into his shoulder, her sobs echoing into the ironically sunny air.

 _Present Day…_

Adult Claire opened her eyes and stopped sweeping the floor as she heard a sound from outside. She carefully placed her broom by the barn door, and peaked outside to see a lean, dark-skinned figure lounging around next to her shipping bin.

"Hello?" She greeted with a hint of guard in her voice.

"Oh hel—" the figure began to say before freezing when he saw Claire. He looked like he had seen a ghost: his face flushed, his eyes went wide, and his mouth gaped open.

"Is something wrong?" Claire asked in confusion.

"…No, nothing's wrong," he said slowly, immediately wearing an air of confidence after. "Sorry about that. You just looked familiar. I'm Kai. What's your name?"

"Claire, nice to meet you."

Again, for a quick moment she saw the same panic strike Kai, but again it disappeared soon after.

"Sorry for intruding. I'm used to heading over here to lounge around, when it was abandoned you know? I guess I should have taken the cow and crop field as a sign someone had moved in," he chuckled. Claire laughed.

"Your observation skills are duly noted," Claire replied. "Say, I haven't seen you around, or even heard about you for that matter. How long have you been here?"

Kai seem to perspire slightly at the question. "Well, I just come to visit Mineral Town in the summers. I've done so ever since I was young."

"Oh, that's cool," Claire said, no hints of familiarity in her voice. Kai relaxed slightly at this knowledge.

"Well, as much as I'd like to talk, I've got a lot of farm work to do. I'll see you around," Claire said, waving goodbye. Kai waved and left as quickly as he possibly could without being obviously spooked.

He never thought he would meet her in person. Kai had _hoped_ he would never meet Claire in person. It would make things easier for him.

Kai had always taken a non-committal approach to everything. It never was a problem until the Claire fiasco happened. Rick had left that summer being a carefree boy who still seemed to be figuring himself out, and he had come back an entirely new person. Of course, Kai knew that he had met a girl in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Kai made it his business to know the love life of his best friend, (not to mention it was a great excuse to talk to Popuri). But he hadn't expected Rick to come home suddenly adopting an adult aura.

Kai had grown up with enough "adults" around him, and he didn't want Rick to turn into one. And as it happened, Rick was being so thick-headed that he wouldn't listen to reason. Kai had to take matters into his own hands to protect Rick.

What he didn't anticipate was Rick being so thick-headed that he practically ex-communicated Kai entirely. After the fight, Kai still expected Rick to forgive him, or get his sister to as well. Things didn't pan out that way.

When he tried to approach Popuri, she only glared at him and walked away. It took him two whole years to get her to talk to him and be friendly.

Claire's arrival in Mineral Town posed Kai a serious number of problems, namely his current relationship with Popuri. At this point she would have mostly forgotten about the affair, but with Claire's arrival that would be sure to surface old memories.

"Curse that dar—" Kai stopped himself from saying those words as he stopped in the middle of the brick road.

Despite her presence being problematic, Kai had to admit Claire definitely seemed like a special person, at least if he took on Rick's perspective. He didn't know why, but he could see why Rick fell in love with her.

Kai had long accepted that what he did was for the best; however, seeds of doubt began to grow inside of his brain.

Maybe he hadn't been protecting Rick as much as he had been protecting himself.


	14. Their Friendship

**Author's Note:** Hiya! So, I made some small edits to chapter 13 after I realized that the transition between adult Claire and teenage Claire was a bit confusing. Enjoy!

!

Adult Kai laid down on the beach calmly, his eyes cast out wistfully onto the ocean. The beach was a special place to him for many reasons, the most important one being that it was where he met Rick. He closed his eyes.

They had both been 5-years-old at the time, Kindergarten age. Kai had come to Mineral Town with his father and mother for reasons he couldn't remember. He had been super shy when they arrived, since he hadn't made any friends back at home, and was scared to interact with people. At the time of his arrival Rick and his family were having a picnic at the beach. It just so happened that the two boys made prolonged eye contact before Rick got up off of the picnic blanket, walked over, introduced himself, and asked Kai if he wanted to be friends.

It's strange how such strong friendships can be formed on such simplicity. But it worked. The two of them were practically inseparable; they went everywhere with one another and were fiercely loyal to each other. Nothing could have brought the two apart. That is, until Claire came along.

Adult Kai opened his eyes, feeling the ruthless sun begin to burn his face. Kai got up from the burning sand and walked over to his shack as his mind seemed to be going wild.

17-year-old Kai had come to Mineral Town alone, (as he'd done since he was 14), expecting the usual ecstatic welcome from Rick at the pier. So, it came as a great surprise to see Rick wasn't there. Immediately, Kai became worried that something happened to Rick.

Anxiously he scurried off of the pier, (he didn't bring much with him), and sprinted all the way to Rick's home. He practically skidded as he rocketed up towards the door, banging on it in a panic. That was when a confused Popuri opened the door tentatively, only to become extremely shy at the sight of Kai. (Popuri, who was the same age as Claire, had developed a crush on Kai when he had turned 14).

"Popuri, where's Rick? Is he alright?"

Popuri blinked, and carefully tucked a large clump of her pink hair behind her ear. "He's alright Kai. Why did you think he wasn't?"

Kai tilted his head to the side, even more puzzled than Popuri. "He wasn't at the pier to greet me. It's a huge tradition of ours," he said in a slightly irritated voice, catching Popuri off guard.

"Oh, I guess Rick didn't tell you. Dad had to take a call from a client all the way in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and he decided to take Rick with him. I'm so sorry. It was so sudden that Rick didn't have any time to you to tell you," Popuri said slowly in deep thought.

Kai relaxed greatly, knowing that Rick was ok. "When will he be back?" He asked eagerly.

"Kai, I don't know. It depends on how long they need to stick around with the client. I think her name was Pony, or something. I don't know. Rick has been writing to me, though. If he says anything about coming home I'll let you know."

Kai didn't like the idea of possibly spending an entire summer in Mineral Town without his best friend, but he couldn't do anything about it unless he was willing to go all the way to Forget-Me-Not Valley. He'd considered setting up a temporary shack of sorts there, but he decided against it since he didn't think he'd get much business.

For the majority of the summer, Kai wandered around town aimlessly, having little to do. He did spend an extended amount of time with Popuri and Lilla, mostly to get the latest news about Rick. It didn't take long for a specific person to be mentioned, however.

"Hmm, he's talking about that girl again," Popuri sighed as she read the latest letter. Lilla was in the middle of whipping up a stew, but she took a moment to turn back and smile at Popuri. "It's all he ever seems to talk about in these letters anymore."

"Well, when boys begin to like someone, they do that," Lilla laughed.

Kai's ears perked at this sudden mention. "Rick's been writing about a girl? That's very surprising."

Popuri glanced at Kai and rolled her eyes. "Yes, in fact he has. I guess I haven't really told you about it. Honestly, you should read for yourself," Popuri said with a hue of annoyance in her voice, grabbing a stack of Rick's previous letters and pulling about 75% of the letters making up that stack. "Here are all the letters that he's written with the mention of this girl. I can't remember her name."

Kai hesitate before snatching the top letter and reading. He eyes soaked in every word on the page. One by one, Kai read through every single letter, carefully noting his writing tendencies when he was talking about this girl, who he soon found out was named Claire. Finally, he read the latest letter.

 _Dear Popuri and Mom,_

 _How are the both of you doing? I'm doing great, as always. Mostly that would have to do with the fact I've been spending so much time with Claire. She's such an amazing person. I think you guys would really like her. Did I mention that she loves chickens too?  
I don't know, but we have a lot in common! _

_So, anything new going on at home? I can't wait for your latest letter!_

 _Love,_

 _Rick_

Kai felt his chest constrict as he read the letter. Goddess, he was falling in love with this girl, this complete stranger. So much so, apparently, that he had never mentioned Kai in any of his letters, seemingly more concerned about this stranger than his best friend.

Kai was becoming the third wheel. He was being replaced. This girl hadn't even known Rick for as long as Kai had. Kai had been the one to be there for Rick through all of the tough times, and then this "female dog" decides to sweep in and act like Rick's all hers?

Kai stopped his train of thought, as he realized that Popuri and Lilla were both staring at him. "Is everything alright, Kai? You're looking livid right now?" Popuri observed.

Kai blinked. "I'm…good. I just feel a little stuffy in here, that's all," he told them slowly, excusing himself to go outside. He leaned against the door when he shut it, a storm of emotions raging within him.

He couldn't be certain of anything yet. Kai had to remember that Rick tended to give extremely high and excessive praises to people that he didn't feel anything for. Rick could come home and never speak of this girl again, the best-case scenario. Worst case…Kai didn't even want to think that far. His friend, his _only_ friend was in a state of crisis, and Kai was prepared to do whatever it took to get his best friend out of it.


	15. The Letter

**Author's Note:** I don't have much to say, so enjoy!

!

Kai sat down in the chair in his room at the inn extremely troubled. His conversation with Rick earlier that day was unexpected. Rick was so sure of himself. He was so sure that he wasn't making a mistake. Rick was so _blind_ , he couldn't see the ruin it would bring him. This _relationship_ , whatever it was, was not love. It was the definition of stupidity. Pure lunacy.

It's important to note that Kai, while seemingly coming from a place of complete selfishness, did have a grain of well meaning in his mind. After all, he didn't want Rick to go through the same situation his (Kai's) father had gone through. What _he_ had gone through.

Back in the day, when Kai's mother was only 16 years old, she ventured into the city with her family during the summer time. It was there that she met a charming young man. So charming, in fact, that by the end of the summer his mother found out she was pregnant. With twins. To not bring shame to her family, Kai's mother asked the man to take the children once she gave birth. She told him that when she turned 18 she would come find him and wed him, so they could settle down and raise their family together.

His father obliged. When she gave birth, she gave Kai, and his brother (Denny), to his father. For two long years their father raised them. Taking them through their rites of passage: learning to walk, speak, use the bathroom appropriately, learn to read. But when the time came for their mother to arrive, she never came. In complete worry, their father took to the countryside to find their mother, only to find that she had long forgotten her love for him, and didn't wish to commit herself to him any longer.

He was devastated. In his grief, their father gave Denny and Kai up for adoption. The two were separated quickly, neither of their adoptive families willing to take on the both of them together. Kai was so young at the time, he could barely remember it. All he could remember was the waterfall of tears he screamed out when he was being pulled away from his dad.

When Kai turned 14, he ran away from home. His relationship with his adoptive family had deteriorated greatly over the years, mostly due to Kai's tendency to lean towards rebellious behaviors. However, when he made it to the city, he only found an aged gravestone with his father's name on it. Rick was the only one who kept him steady in these hard times.

With Rick's help he was able to reconnect with his brother Denny from the Sunshine Islands. Rick helped Kai open up his seaside shack.

The two of them were partners, and that meant they looked out for each other no matter what. Rick had looked out for Kai, and it was past time Kai looked out for Rick.

Kai opened his eyes, tears blurring his vision. Maybe Claire wasn't pregnant, but Rick's impending doom was clear as day.

With a sudden burst of determination, Kai pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, being certain to pull out one of Rick's letters home that he managed to snatch. There could be no shadow of a doubt that Rick had written this letter to clear. He would need to emulate Rick's handwriting perfectly.

Just like Rick, Kai had never been so certain of anything in his entire life.

And that, would be the downfall of both of them.

!

Rick, almost in tears, scrambled back home. The doors of his home flew open as he ran into the kitchen, fumbling for any paper he could find and a pen. No one was home, thank goddess, or else he would have a lot of explaining to do.

He sunk onto the coldness of the tile floor. As quickly as he could, he scribbled down a desperate plea to Claire. Pitiful tears slid down his face, dropping onto the sheet of paper at an increasingly rapid rate. They decorated the paper, smearing his desperate words.

"Please, please, please," he pleaded. As soon as finished writing his letter, he shoved into the nearest envelope he could find and broke into a sprint, almost slamming into the door on his way out. He was on a mission to find Harris, since he was often responsible for the mail.

As fast as he could, he ran to the left of the poultry farm and turned left again to cut through the local farm. Various farm animals paused their relaxed grazing to gawk at the sight of Rick rocketing past them. He made the various crops he passed shrivel up slightly in fear. The birds temporarily stopped chirping.

Rick turned left into the forest and raced towards the carpenter's shop. He burst through the doors, making the two gentlemen inside flinch.

"Harris, please—it's an emergency—the letter—she needs to see it!" Rick shouted as he panted loudly. Harris stared at the poor boy, utterly confused.

"Harris, can you please send this letter as quickly as possible?" Rick asked urgently once he caught his breath.

Harris wasn't usually one to complete such requests. He had already taken the mail for the day; it was a long way to the post office. But something inside of him felt pity for Rick.

He nodded after hesitating slightly. "Yes, I can. I'll go there right now." Without another word, he bid a quick farewell to the carpenter and left the establishment, leaving Rick behind. The fate of his relationship with Claire was out of his hands.

!

"Claire, is everything alright? You're no eating," Pony observed with a raised eyebrow. Claire didn't even look at her mother as she played with her food.

"I'm not feeling all that hungry."

Pony sighed. "Don't tell me it was because we had to send Mr. Rod and Rick away. You know well enough that we couldn't afford to keep them here. You're more mature than this," Pony scolded lightly.

Claire gritted her teeth, feeling a horrid torrent of words form in the depths of her mouth. She didn't understand at all. She would never understand. And here she was acting like she knew everything that was going on in her brain. It would make things easier if she kept to her own darn business for goddess sake!

Mark, sensing the rising tension, discretely kicked his sister in the leg. Claire gave a sharp look at Mark before calming down slightly. "Excuse me," she said quietly, leaving the dinner table as hastily as she could.

"And where do you think you're going, Claire?" Pony asked in an irritated tone. It took all of Claire's willpower to not explode right then and there. It would have been a lot easier, but she knew that wouldn't accomplish anything.

"I need to get some fresh air, I'm not feeling well," Claire responded slowly, with her eyes squeezed shut. She didn't wait to hear another word from Pony as she left the kitchen, leaving Pony and Marlin dumbfounded.

"Mark, do you know what's going on with your sister?" Pony asked frustrated.

"I have no idea," Mark replied quietly, staring at the full plate of food in front of him. "I think I'll go after her."

At that he quickly got up and left the kitchen, leaving the house to feel the cool twilight breeze against his skin. The moon shone down brightly, (it was a full moon), on the pasture. Mark quickly noticed Claire sitting on the fence of the pasture, the moon reflecting her increasingly blond hair. He jogged up to her.

"Claire, you should really get back inside, or else Mom is going to truly believe that you are as immature as she thinks you are," Mark advised.

Claire remained unresponsive as she stared straight ahead, no emotion registering on her face. Mark shook his head exhaling deeply. "Claire, you just need to store these emotions away for a little while. Once you finish your din—"

"I'm not hungry," Claire interrupted rudely. "I said so back inside. Stop trying to convince me I am."

Mark lost his patience. "Claire, you received that letter two days ago. What's done is done. You can't go on like this. You're 15 years old; you have so much to live for at this age. For goddess sake, the relationship may not have panned out anyway! If Rick was truly this malevolent, then why would you want to end up with him anyway? I can't let you go on like this."

Tears pooled in the deep blues of Claire's eyes. "Why do people have to be so cruel?" She asked in an almost inaudible whisper. Mark regained his composure as empathy set in.

"Claire, I don't know. People do some terrible things, but that's life. You'll always meet people like this no matter where you go. You can be sorry that this happened to you, but you would have had to face something like this sooner or later," Mark explained to her. Claire nodded slightly, trying not to let herself cry.

"Claire?" A voice asked in the dark. Both of the teenagers' heads shot over to the side to see Takakura standing close to them.

"I have a letter for you; it's from Mineral Town," he stated, tiredness evident in the old man's voice. Mark grabbed the letter as Claire turned away to not betray that she was crying. She didn't want to have to explain anything to Takakura at the moment.

"Thank you, Takakura," Mark said. The old man nodded before turning around to retire to his cabin for the night.

"What does the letter say, Mark?" Claire asked tiredly. Mark shook his head.

"I'm not opening this. You have to promise me Claire that you won't read any of the letters he sends you. He's only going to torment you as long as you let him," Mark ordered. "You have to promise me you won't read his letters, that you'll forget about him."

Claire looked at Mark, a deep sadness setting into her eyes. "It's so hard."

"It always is sis," he replied softly. A moment of silence passed between them. "Come here," he said, opening his arms. Claire hopped off of the fence, walking into her brother's warm embrace, as she sobbed quietly under the moonlight.


	16. The Quiz

**Author's Note:** I'm squeezing in some writing time before school starts again for the week tomorrow. I won't be able to do much writing during the week, due to all of the commitments I have, but I will write whenever I can. With that in mind, enjoy!

!

Claire strode across Mineral Town under the light of the sunrise. Rays of kissed her cheeks warmly in greeting. Her loose blond hair fell down in wild streaks across her back. The trees bore a splendid emerald color not beheld in Mineral Town for a number of decades, and a light breeze came to complete the masterpiece that was the coming day.

This particular morning, Claire was headed to the poultry farm to buy some feed, as the corn she was growing wasn't harvestable yet, so she couldn't turn it into feed. She knew the shop wouldn't be open, but she hoped that she could buy some early. It would make the animals less irritable.

As Claire turned right onto the poultry farm, she noticed a lone figure standing in the middle of an angry herd of chickens. A small smile crept on her lips at the scene; it was unusual to witness such an interesting occasion. However, her smile dissipated once she noticed that it was Rick in the middle of those chickens. She entertained the thought of leaving; Claire was still unable to socialize with Rick normally due to their history. Too much pain.

Unfortunately, she lingered too long. Rick locked eyes with Claire, giving her a pleading look. "Can you help me, please?" He asked.

She mulled it in her mind for a second. On the one hand, she could just leave, which would make Rick face this situation on his own, but risk looking like a complete jerk. On the other hand, she could help him, but then risk her own integrity in doings so. It would only make him think she had forgiven him.

Oh, but she had not. No, she was certain she would never truly forgive him. Sure, they had been young and brash, but what stuck with her was the cruel truth behind the entire situation. His manipulation. His deceit.

Claire slowly returned back to reality, and realized that Rick was still staring at her, asking her for help. With a deep sigh and a gritting of the teeth, Claire carefully coaxed the chickens back into their coop. "Come on, Leo. You want to eat, don't you? Now Penny, don't give me that rebellious look; get back inside with all of your friends. Go on!" One by one the chickens reluctantly followed each other into the coop. Once the final chicken went in, Claire shut the door of the coop, and prepared to take her leave.

"Thank you, Claire. I was in a real tight situation back there," Rick thanked, interrupting Claire's exit.

"It's no problem," she replied shortly, beginning to walk away again. Rick stared at her in confusion.

"Claire, wait!" He called. Claire exhaled in frustration and turned around to face _him_. "It seemed like you were here to get something. Is that true? I don't want to make your trip here a bust," he asked good naturedly.

"As it happens, yes. I was here to get chicken feed. My hope was that I could buy some from your shop before it opened so I could get started on the rest of my farm work early," Claire explained with arms crossed. Rick nodded and started to walk inside of the shop.

"Follow me, I can get you some. How much do you need?" He inquired as he entered the storage room where his family kept their shop supplies.

"Just get me 6 bags," Claire told him quietly, trying not to disturb anyone in the house.

"I'll get you ten," Rick insisted, pulling out ten bags of feed.

"Rick, that won't be necessary. Besides, I'm paying for it anyway—"

"Nonsense, Claire. You helped get me out of a pickle today; the least I can do is give you some complimentary feed," Rick retorted. Claire stared at him wide eyed.

"Rick, this is too much. You already gave me a free chicken. I'm not poor; I can afford to pay for feed," Claire told him, offense lingering in her voice.

"I'm not trying to insult your bank account, Claire. All I'm trying to do is _thank_ you for a kind deed. I saw that look in your face; you were preparing to leave there to fend for myself," Rick said casually. Claire froze, shame taking over her mind. "Here are the bags; do you need help carrying them?"

Claire shook her head stubbornly. "If I can take care of an entire farm by myself, I'm sure I can handle these."

Rick just shook his head with a smirk on his face. "You never cease to impress me Claire. I know very few people that can take care of an entire farm by themselves."

Claire just shrugged off the statement. "It's really not that hard once you get used to it."

"But I still have doubts about your knowledge," Rick said playfully. Claire shot him a glare.

"Oh really? Ok, try me," she challenged, mirroring Rick's playfully competitive look.

"Alright, how many days does it take for an egg to hatch?" Rick asked confidently.

"3 days," Claire answered instantly. Rick didn't look fazed. He turned his body to face hers, squinting his eyes as he stared her down. Claire did the same, giving all of her competitive energy towards this sudden turn of events.

"How many times can a cow produce milk?"

"Once a day."

"What percentage of farmers farm ducks?"

"20%, not including baby ducks," Claire fired back. Rick leaned back, an impressed look on his face.

"I'm even further impressed. Though I will have to admit those questions shouldn't really have been all to challenging, or else I would have been royally disappointed," Rick told her with a nonchalant shrug.

"Mm, yeah right. You would catch me dead before I would answer _any_ of those questions wrong," Claire rebutted. She caught a glimpse of the clock that hung in the kitchen. 8:00. "Oh, no! I need to get back to the farm. The animals will be extra cranky if I don't feed them soon. See ya!" Claire stacked the bags of feed on her shoulders and flew out of the store with an incredible speed considering she was carrying a considerable amount of weight on her. Rick shook his head at the fiery blond, watching her leave the shop with a dreamy look.


	17. Popuri and Kai

**Author's Note:** Hey all. I've caught my annual cold and I've been stacked with a lot of work from my AP's, so I just haven't had much time to write. However, in my free time in AP English III I have been taking the time to work on this chapter at school, so yeah. (It's a nice stress reliever). Anyway, sorry for taking a little extra time to update the story, but here you go! (Extra long chapter, courtesies of me. XOXO)

 **Author's Note 2:** So, that author's note was from like two months ago when I first wrote this chapter. I haven't gotten around to getting it off of my school computer and posted until now. REALLY sorry about that.

!

 _Two years after Rick and Claire's summer…_

Claire sat down in the shade next to the beach, the quiet, signature, Forget-Me-Not Valley breeze giving brief definition to the cascades of hair that decorated her head. She fingered her hair subtly, marveling at how _blond_ it was. The sun must have bleached her hair; after all, she spent almost all her time outdoors.

She giggled to herself. It was nice to be able to enjoy herself again, after the pain of…well, she didn't have the emotional capacity to think about it. It had been two years since that one fateful summer; however, pain never has an age.

Claire had received numerous letters from Rick after she stopped communicating with him. She never read any of them; he made it obvious that he didn't want her in his life, why should she encourage his torment? It seemed only fitting that she threw every letter discretely into the fireplace when the fire was blazing hot.

The only trouble was, Claire couldn't bring herself to throw away the old letters that he had sent; the ones that made her feel like the most special person in the world. Those letters overflowed with feelings of hope. Those letters promised her a future. And she couldn't so easily throw that away.

Claire clutched one of her favorite letters in her hand, as she sat on the sand. The letter was weathered and wrinkled, possibly from the many times that she folded it to keep in her pocket as a reminder of her promise to Rick; it was a reminder to not stray, to be faithful. She knew it was silly, but the letter helped her cope with the distance, despite that only really lasting for 3 weeks.

A desire to relive old memories caused her to glance at the letter.

 _Dear Claire,_

 _Words can't express how much I miss you. I recently realized, that I had always felt an emptiness present in my life. I never noticed it until I met you however, because you were there to make me feel whole again. I had always sought someone as beautiful as you, in both personality and appearance. You care fiercely about everything you do; it's only a pity that it goes unnoticed._

 _However, despite all of these words, I still don't know how to thank you. You have helped me find a purpose within myself that I was lacking in my life. I couldn't find the motivation to do everything in the manner that you do. It was like I was sleep walking through life. I guess I only needed to become entranced by a certain blond to finally wake up._

 _With love,_

 _Rick_

Claire smiled at the letter nostalgically. Her whole being wished that this had been real, that it had panned out. The worst part was that she was turning 18 in a couple of days; it would be the anniversary of when they would have reunited with each other. Claire knew that he would have likely agreed they weren't ready to marry; it would have been too hasty to do so when they were so young. But still, it would have been a euphoric occasion.

"Claire?" A soft voice asked. Claire blinked and looked up to see Lumina standing over her.

"Oh, hello Lumina," Claire greeted. Lumina sat down on the sand next to Claire, staring out into the distance.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" She asked. Claire paused before nodding. "You shouldn't do that to yourself; don't give him another second of power over you. That's all that he wants to do: make your life miserable," Lumina said distantly. "People like that don't deserve a second of attention."

Claire could feel an unnatural sternness brewing within Lumina as she spat out those words. It made Claire think about Lumina's reaction to the letter that Rick had sent expressing his distaste for her.

 _One day after Claire received the letter…_

"He did WHAT?" Lumina yelled, dropping the plate she was holding. Claire stood in a vulnerable position, her hands twisting in a nervous writhe. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded speechlessly.

Lumina looked as if she was prepared to stomp her way to Mineral Town and give Rick a piece of her mind. And if we're being honest, she probably was. Lumina was a curious individual; she could seemingly have the sweetest temperament on all occasions but hurt one of her friends and you would become the target for an uncharacteristically "heated" discussion, (which is a very polite way of putting it).

Lumina stormed out of the house, her eyes alight with a determination Claire had never witnessed before.

"Lumina, no!" Claire shouted, sprinting to cut Lumina off. "You can't seriously be trying to go to Mineral Town on foot."

"Claire, what he did was outrageous. He can't do something like this without knowing how… _monstrous_ it was," Lumina remarked. Claire shook her head desperately.

"Please, don't do anything. I'm afraid that your own words won't do much of anything to convince him. If you can't do it for me, do it for yourself; you'd save yourself a lot of face in your Aunt's eyes," Claire observed, looking at Romana through one of the windows, who happened to be watching the interaction taking place between Claire and Lumina.

Lumina froze before turning around and spotting her Aunt. She took a deep breathe to try to gain some composure; Lumina knew well her Aunt would make her disapproval clear if she saw Lumina act in a particularly unladylike way.

"If it would mean that much to you, Claire, then fine. But, if that rascal ever shows his face here again I will personally track him down and rough him up a bit," Lumina warned in a slow, threatening voice. Claire just raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't know you were even capable of such a thing," she remarked. Lumina cocked a grin.

"Living in the country has taught me a few things."

 _Present Day (Two years after that one summer) …_

Claire opened her eyes. She heard Mark shouting in the distance, calling Lumina's name. The two girls twisted to see Mark frantically running down the hill and straight towards them. When he finally arrived, he bent down, panting.

"Claire, *huff* mom wants *huff* you. You *huff* should go see her," Mark finished. Claire nodded, and started to leave. However, a slight feeling crept inside her that told her to stay, so she quickly hid behind the tree that side beside Gustafa's place to watch whatever was about to happen.

"Are you alright, Mark?" Lumina laughed. "You seem a little tired."

Mark rolled his eyes slightly at what she said. "Well, I came here for more than just your entertainment," he said in a slightly nervous voice. Lumina caught the slight tremble in his voice, immediately stopping.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, concern evident.

"Don't worry, this isn't something bad," he chuckled nervously. Lumina continued to cast him her concerned expression. "Lumina…we've been dating for about two years now. They've been the best two years of my life," Mark stated, feigning a wave of confidence. "You are the most beautiful woman I know, and as time has passed I've realized that women like you aren't common; you have to grab hold of them as soon as you find them, or else they'll leave forever." Lumina blushed as Mark serenaded her with these unceremonious compliments; what did he mean? "And Lumina, well…it took me a while to convince your aunt, but after a while she finally gave me her blessing…" Mark's voice trailed off before he scrambled to put a knee onto the ground. Claire gasped as he reached for a bulging item in his pocket and pulled it out; it was a blue feather. It took all of her willpower not to squeal. "Lumina, would you make me the—"

"YES!" Lumina shouted, not even giving Mark enough time to finish his question. Mark chuckled before receiving Lumina's crushing embrace. Claire couldn't contain her excitement any longer and she ran out from behind the tree to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

"Oh, my goddess, Lumina!" Claire shouted, almost jumping up and down.

"I'm getting married!"

"You're getting married!"

"Oh, my goddess, I'm getting MARRIED!" Lumina shouted, her eyes going wide. "I have so much work to do!"

"Don't worry about that, Lumina. You know everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley will be eager to help you," Claire reminded her cheerfully. "The most important thing you need to worry about right now is finding a dress!"

Lumina just chuckled. "Who says I'm going to wear a dress? As far as I've heard, all your parents did was walk around the village for their wedding!" Claire blushed, embarrassed that her parents had opted to do such a lame wedding. Seriously, _walking_ around the village telling everyone they were married was _not_ a wedding. She shook her head in disgust.

"You should run and tell your aunt about what happened," Claire suggested. Lumina nodded and prepared to sprint off towards the manor but decided to maintain an image of propriety at the last second and began a serene walk, Mark followed behind her. "Are you coming?" She asked Claire.

Claire bit her lip and shook her head. "I—uh, have some stuff to do. Important stuff." Claire offered a less-than-convincing smile to Lumina. "Look, I'll be fine, I just need a moment, that's all." Lumina understood and gave her somber nod before hooking her arm in Mark's and walking away towards her home.

Claire watched the couple as they disappeared in the distance. She sighed sadly and instinctively cast a look in the direction of the bridge. The memory of when Lumina and Mark had confessed their feelings for each other by the inn was fresh on her mind. However, Clare could only thing about the look that Rick was giving her after she turned around to see him standing on the bridge.

She longed for him to be standing there. Claire absolutely despised to admit it, but it was the truth. All of her being ached for him to be standing there, to run up to her, to tell her that he didn't mean what he had said, that he _loved_ her.

Claire wanted Rick to love her, just like Mark had loved Lumina.

A flood of emotions started to pound her inner wall of willpower. "It's been two years, Claire," she told herself, "things aren't going to change." _Things aren't going to change…_

Those haunting words echoed in her head. The wall began to crack. _Things aren't going to change…_ The wall began to shake. _Things aren't going to change…_ Water leaked out of the wall. _Things aren't going to change…_ The wall finally exploded as a flood of tears streamed down her face.

 _Things aren't going to change…_

!

 _Present Day…_

Claire's eyes fluttered open as the sound of her pulsing alarm clock faded into existence. The sound of rain could be heard pattering on the roof as she went about preparing herself for the day. Obviously, she didn't have to worry about watering the crops, but the animals were bound to hunt her down if she didn't start feeding them soon.

However, as she went about her morning routine, she couldn't help but be distracted by the dream that she had. Well, actually it wasn't really dream. It _did_ happen after all. What was strange is that she hadn't really recalled that experience ever happening. She just remembered Mark's proposal, Lumina's acceptance, and nothing else.

Claire racked her mind as to why she didn't remember having such strong emotions after the proposal; she'd heard about suppressed memories before, but it never occurred to her that they existed. As far she knew it had only been theoretical. But, if that were the case, then what could she have done to stimulate the memory?

Claire froze as she started buttoning her overalls. Yesterday…

The day before Claire had decided to spend some of her leisure time at the beach. It made even more sense to do so since she hadn't yet had the opportunity to visit Kai's shack, or even really socialize with him for that matter. However, when she went to the beach, she saw Kai and Popuri standing together by the ocean, looking out into the horizon. Claire knew that they were talking, but she was too far away to discern what they were actually saying. The only thing she could be certain of was Kai's intentions as he took a knee next to Popuri and pulled out a blue feather. Popuri had looked at the blue feather with an eager and excited face at first, but her face quickly turned sour as it seemed like she was thinking of something. Claire gasped when Popuri shook her head no and sadly walked away from the beach, leaving a destroyed Kai behind. To not betray that she had eavesdropped, Claire had jumped behind a bush, a lump forming in her throat.

Claire was certain that must have triggered the memory. Both memories took place at the beach and both had a proposal in them, not to mention the unsavory feelings that lingered after watching both situations unfold.

"No time to dwell on that," Claire stated to herself assertively. "I have work to do."

She hastily ate her breakfast and set out into the oozing rain to start her morning chores. The unmistakable crows of the chickens grew louder as she approached the coop, and she couldn't blame them. Her chickens had laid a motherlode of eggs; it didn't take a genius to understand that they were a bit hungry.

"Good morning you guys," Claire smiled. The chickens merely looked up and cocked their heads over to the side for a split second before returning to their more important activity of pecking the barren floor. Claire just shook her head and chuckled, tossing chicken feed all over the floor. "You guys really are—"

"So, you talk to chickens, huh?" A familiar voice interrupted. Claire's eyes shot wide open as she whipped around. Rick stood, grinning in the doorway of the coop.

"R-Rick! What are you doing here, creep!" Claire shouted, an unintentional startled laugh escaping her throat. Rick's smile widened at Claire's flustered response.

"I just wanted to come by and see how the chickens were doing. It's kind of my job, you know, to make sure they're being looked after well," Rick shrugged. "Though, I will be honest, it's not like you really need me to come check up on you. You have a history of being pretty good at finessing those chickens."

"Yeah, you think?"

"I'm just being honest—well not entirely. In actuality I came here because I wanted to talk to you," Rick told her, his cheeks betraying a crimson hue. Claire's breathing seemed to halt entirely.

"…I need to finish my chores," Claire responded after hesitating.

Rick nodded understandingly. Claire turned back to the chickens, tossing the rest of the day's feed on the ground. Rick followed her as she walked to the barn and went about taking care of her cow and sheep. She didn't acknowledge Rick's presence as he followed her; it made things easier. If she had, she would likely fall into a never-ending spiral of self-consciousness. Claire despised feeling insecure.

As she tossed the last stack of fodder into the feed bins, Claire turned back towards Rick, raising her eyebrows when she saw that he was still hanging around.

"I don't mean to intrude Claire—"

"Where do you want to talk?"

Rick froze, surprised at Claire's cooperative, (though somewhat dry), response. He gulped. "If we could speak in your hou—"

"Great," Claire interrupted again, turning on her heals. Rick didn't say anything further and followed Claire obediently towards her house, which had been noticeably upgraded. He was ushered in by Claire out of the pouring rain; Rick glanced over at her to see her perfect blond hair dripping with water.

"Do you need a towel?" Claire asked with plastic politeness. Rick shook his head. She sighed and started to dry her hair. "So, what do you want?"

"I came to ask you if you had seen anything particular happen yesterday," Rick replied, a serious expression dominating his face.

"You're going to have to be much more specific than that."

Rick huffed. "My sister has been noticeably troubled since the afternoon yesterday, and she hasn't been talking to me. When things are bothering her, she always opens up about it to me, but she's not budging."

Claire just rolled her eyes, "Rick, sometimes women just want to keep some things to ourselves. We like to open up about things in our own time; you shouldn't pressure her into saying anything or else she might lie to get you to leave her alone." Rick raised his eyebrows at her. Claire just flashed her eyes, "Personal experience."

"I'm extremely concerned about her; I just want to know that nobody hurt her," Rick told Claire with a sigh.

Claire exhaled deeply and stopped drying her hair, leaning against a cabinet. "It's not my place to tell you." Rick closed his eyes in frustration. "I'm serious Rick," Claire said in a warning voice, "don't push it. It never works."

Rick closed his eyes. "I'm worried that Kai proposed to her."


	18. The Revelation

**Author's Note:** Hello! Life has been busy lately, so obviously it's been taking me a while to find the time to write at all and stuff. The previous chapter has been sitting on my school computer for a little while now anyway, so once you see this chapter I would have already uploaded the previous chapter.

Again, sorry for the slow progress. Enjoy.

 **Author's Note 2:** Like my previous chapter, I've had this one waiting on my school computer for about two months. Completely forgot that these chapters were finished and I'm super sorry.

!

Claire didn't know how to respond. She knew she _had_ to say something, or else she'd give away that his worries had, in fact, been realized. "U-Uh," Claire began uncertainly. Rick studied her closely.

"He did, didn't he?"

Claire refused to confirm his suspicions, remaining as silent as a prisoner in an interrogation.

"I had hoped that she would heed my warnings. At least she had the good sense to turn him down. The fact that she would be naïve enough to think he had good intentions was enough to drive me crazy," Rick said dryly.

Claire felt anger boil within her. "It seems like your concern for your sister was short-lived."

Rick turned to Claire with a raised eyebrow. "And what are you implying?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Popuri loves Kai. Do you think it was easy for her to turn him down? She wanted to accept his proposal," Claire started with a raised voice.

"It's her fault for hanging out with him all the time. I don't know how well you know Kai, but he's done some terrible things in the past. My sister doesn't deserve to be wedded to scum like him."

"If you truly love someone, you don't care about how much money they have, or where they live, or any of that. You embrace all of their imperfections. Humans, by nature, are prone to make mistakes, but does that mean that we are not allowed to be given a second chance? I don't know what Kai did, but if Popuri can see the good in him, then I can't help but feel like I can trust her judgement," Claire retorted.

A mixed expression of sadness and anger spread across Rick's face. "Don't ever think that I don't care about my sister. I do more than anything, that's why I think she's better off waiting for someone who will remain faithful."

"How can you make that kind of judgement on him?! You hardly even know hi—"

"HE'S THE REASON THAT WE'RE NOT MARRIED RIGHT NOW!" Rick yelled. Claire snapped her mouth shut and blinked at him.

"…W-What?" She stuttered quietly. Rick turned to Claire desperately, and took hold of her hands.

"That letter you received, saying all of those horrible things to you? That wasn't written by me," Rick told her hopelessly. "It was written by Kai."

Claire's frown deepened. "Just because you didn't have the guts to write the letter yourse—!"

"That's not what I'm saying Claire. I didn't _ask_ or _request_ for Kai to write that letter. He did that on his own without my permission or consent. He did that with the sole purpose of breaking us apart," Rick explained slowly. Claire breathed in shakily.

"W-why? Why would he do something like that?" Claire asked distantly, staring blankly into space.

"He was trying to _protect_ me," Rick spat. "Or so according to him."

Claire withdrew her hands from his, looking down at the floor. "This…is a lot to digest, Rick."

"Claire, I have still loved you for all of those years. You may have not gotten the letters that I sent, trying to clear up—"

"I got your letters," Claire interrupted. Rick flinched.

"Wait, you did?"

"I…didn't read them. In fact, I burned them while they were unopened," Claire told him slowly, a sheepish look spreading across her face.

"To be honest, I'm not that surprised. I wouldn't expect anything less from you." A moment of reflective silence passed. "But you know I cared about you always? I never stopped believing in you."

"Rick…I need to be alone for a little bit."

Rick breathed in deeply. "I know that this is a lot…but you have to believe me."

"Please, I just need some time to process all of this." A painful pause illuminated the room. "You can't just erase years of emotional pain," Claire replied with melancholic eyes.

Rick wanted desperately to hold her in that moment. But, he knew that it would only act counterintuitively. He allowed himself to linger for a moment longer before exiting the farmhouse into the pounding rain. Rick hadn't thought to bring an umbrella, so by the time he found himself home he was soaked to the bone. Lillia had been sitting with Popuri, who was lying down on her lap like a child, dealing with her own emotional pain as Lillia stroked her hair comfortingly.

Lillia took quick notice to the fact that Rick did not acknowledge either of them as he walked past. He just walked aimlessly upstairs to his room and shut the door in a very quiet way.

Meanwhile, Claire could scarcely believe what Rick had told her. She couldn't find it in herself to believe, but at the same time it made so much sense. After about two hours of intensive contemplation, Claire decided it was best to inquire about the situation to Kai. She figured that she wouldn't likely receive an honest answer, but nonetheless it wouldn't hurt to seek out the truth for herself.

Claire didn't bother to grab an umbrella as she found herself running with a frightening intensity towards the seaside shack. The rain did little to deter her and her mission. The only thing that mattered at that moment was learning the truth. She didn't care how she got it.

Claire burst into the shack with the type of entrance that could have been compared to Jareth the Goblin King's entrance into Sarah's home in Labyrinth. Thank goddess Kai was the only one there, though he did gulp slightly at her sudden intrusion.

"Hello-!"

"Did you write that letter?" Claire anxiously asked him loudly.

Kai blinked and seemed to take on the form of a statue. His face turned pale at the question, telling Claire everything she needed to know. An explosion of emotions filled her from top to bottom.

"You—!" She shouted, almost indicating that she was about to lunge at him.

"Not this again," Kai muttered to himself with a groan. "Claire! Before you maul me, allow me to explain myself first!"

Claire still remained in her picture of fury but managed to contain herself enough to not strangle Kai. Kai, in turn, motioned for her to sit by the counter. Claire had to debate for a moment whether being in such close proximity to him would be too tempting, but she finally nodded, gritting her teeth.

"Claire, I want to go on record saying-," he began with a sigh.

"Just tell me what happened. Your condolences mean nothing to me," Claire spat at him, a raging fire burning in her eyes as she spoke. Kai nodded with fear living behind his eyes.

"I did it because I thought I was doing the right thing for Rick. You two were rushing into a relationship too mature for the either of you. I mean, looking at it from the perspective of any normal person, it was pure insanity that you'd pledge to marry each other," Kai explained, keeping a safe distance away from the hotheaded blond. "I've only seen one other relationship like it, and it happened to end extremely…poorly," he added delicately. "And, while I'm being honest with you, I didn't know who you were. You'd never been far out of Forget-Me-Not Valley; I couldn't know whether you'd forget about him. He was the first person you ever started any type of relationship with, right?" He asked her.

Claire gave him a tight nod, a blush forming on her cheeks from embarrassment. Kai gave her a gentle, pained look. "I don't mean to embarrass you. I really felt I was looking out for Rick; in the end I lost my best friend for it." A regretful tone took over his voice. This was a Kai that Claire never realized could exist. "Had I known who you were, I would have realized that maybe this was actually true love. Either way, it wasn't my place to interfere. I just wanted to help him avoid the pain that my parents experienced."

"You're right, it wasn't your place to interfere," Claire replied coldly, giving him the glare of death. Without another word, she slid off of the stool and stormed out of the whining shack.


	19. Claire and Kai

**A/N:** Hello everyone! So here is chapter 19 to Harvest Moon: Forgotten Promise. I've been editing previous chapters to make the dialogue easier to follow. However, upon doing this I've realized that the story has had some inconsistencies and there are some parts that are lacking in my opinion. So, I'm thinking that once I finish this story I will rewrite the story from scratch. I would be keeping the same main plot points for the most part, but I would make changes where I think were appropriate and such. I think I'd still keep this version of the story around but rename it to "Harvest Moon: Forgotten Promise (Original)" and publish another story simply named "Harvest Moon: Forgotten Promise (Ultimate Edition)" or "(Author's Cut)". I don't know. If you guys could give some input on whether you'd like that or not, please let me know in a pm or a review.

Anyway, please enjoy.

!

Claire stood on the sand staring into the distance. The sun began its usual descent into the sea, giving way to the moon's nightly domain. The waves, once pounding the sand in ferocious splashes, now waned into a gentle touch. Seagulls took flight from the beach into the distance, seemingly heading straight toward the sun.

Despite all of the stimuli of this scene in front of her, none of it was registering to Claire. She found herself deeply entranced in her own thoughts as she thought over the situation that unfolded two days ago.

Claire was still in disbelief that Kai could do such a thing. Despite the brief time they'd known each other, Claire had been under the amiable impression that he was a very relaxed individual who would rather like staying out of people's affairs. Of course, she had to give credit to the fact that Kai was a teenager vulnerable to the powerful control of his hormones. However, hormones alone couldn't be responsible for such a despicable act. He deliberately came between Rick and Claire; as Rick pointed out, had Kai not interfered, their relationship would likely have looked a lot different at this point. Maybe they would have been engaged or even wedded.

Sure, they wouldn't have gotten married at 18, as Mark had pointed out many years ago, but Claire was 24 now and Rick was 25. By then they would have had to have had some advances in their relationship if they didn't break up.

Claire sighed as she slowly faded back to her senses, realizing that night would soon finish pulling its curtain over the sky. Little did Claire know that she wasn't alone in her deep contemplation. Located about 30 feet away from Claire in the Snack Shack, Kai sat at one of the tables, looking out the window at Claire who was standing alone on the beach.

A storm of emotions swirled in Kai at seeing Claire. He felt anger at seeing her, for the fact that she had been the one person that came between him and Rick. Guilt pounded within him just as strong, for the fact that he had damaged Claire's emotions as much as he did. Then, of course, a hint of jealousy tinted the mix of emotions because of how much she was liked by everyone in the town. And finally, Kai felt more pounding guilt because of the previously stated jealousy.

Claire turned her head to the left, catching sight of Kai sitting alone in the shack. He had intended to look away, but somehow Kai couldn't bring himself to do it. However, he felt too ashamed to look at Claire in the eyes either, making the situation even more awkward.

Claire, on the other hand, felt nothing at seeing Kai. Sure, she had been livid with him and the role he played in destroying her and Rick's relationship. However, over the past two days she found herself completely numb to all of her emotions. She went about her chores robotically, and found herself opposed to making any social interactions with anyone. Somehow, without even looking, Claire felt that a particular spark had completely left her, and it bothered her greatly.

Without any thought, she began to walk over to the shack, eventually entering the rather sagging structure and plopping herself down across from Kai mechanically and folding her arms as she leaned back.

Kai kept his gaze from looking over at Claire, preferring to awkwardly take a sudden interest in watching the waves hit the beach. And, for the first 10 minutes, the two remained perfectly silent, seemingly happy at the rather strange company the two were having. It wasn't until that the 10 minutes passed that Claire chose to speak.

"Are you really that interested in looking out the window?" She asked him dryly. Kai finally turned his head to look at her, surprised to not see a single scowl or any hints of a livid wrinkle on her face.

"No, not really," he replied in what was meant to be a playful jest, but only fell flat to be awkward.

"I'd like to think that there were some real good reasons for what you did," Claire said bluntly. "But of course, I wouldn't trust your word for it. Since you did what you did to me, I think I'm owed and frankly deserve some answers from you. So, spill," she continued on in a rather demanding tone, uncharacteristic of Claire's nature.

Kai gulped uncomfortably, taking a careful sideways glance at Claire's demeanor. He didn't feel comfortable sharing the details of his personal life to someone who he wasn't convinced wasn't about to strangle him. However, after a brief moment of pondering her relented, beginning to tell her his story. At first, he had only planned on making it out to be out of jealousy that he was becoming the third wheel. It wasn't technically lying, as that was a part of that. However, the next thing he knew he was explaining the complication history of his biological father and mother's lives. During the entire story, Claire didn't allow any judgement to flicker over her face, only remaining a polite, un-interrupting listener.

Kai finally finished his story, breathless and vulnerable. Claire retained her stoic expression, hardly moving her rather tight and defensive position. At this point, the stars had already begun twinkling in the sky brightly. The moon shone in the shack, providing a little bit of natural, pale, light.

Kai walked over and turned on the lights of the shack, allowing their dim features to better illuminate the rundown room. Once he sat down, Claire spoke.

"I'm not gonna lie, I don't know how to feel. The past two days I've felt myself just going through the motions of everything. I'm certain you've probably heard people talking about how I'm suddenly not acting like myself?"

"Yes. People are worried about you," Kai said, pulling from the gossip he overheard Manna, Sarah, and Anna had been talking about in the plaza that day.

"I don't know why I suddenly felt this change in myself. It's like I went…numb. That's why I was standing on the beach. Ever since I was young, I would stand on the beach back at home to think whenever there was a lot on my mind. It seems that habit has stuck with me," she mused to herself in an almost tranquil manner. "That's besides the point, though. I don't mean to make people worry about me, but the news has been hard to take. It is hyperbolic for me to say this, but it has made me feel like a lot of my life has been a lie. There's a lot of me that built my life around the heartbreak and betrayal I experienced. I learned the hard way to not be very trusting of people and their motives…well, try to be at least. I normally find myself being pretty gullible anyway, to my own chagrin. It isn't a particularly bad thing except for the fact that I haven't dated anyone seriously due to my lack of trust in such relationships. There were multiple guys that I'd liked over the years who had reciprocated feelings for me…and I'd just get scared and suddenly withdraw from them. I didn't want to experience that pain again of being led on. Then, sometime when I turned 20, I just stopped having crushes or any feelings for any guys entirely. It's not a bad thing to not want anyone in your life, if that's what you so choose, but that wasn't what it was. I did want someone in my life. But the pain was so bad for me that I completely closed that part of myself up. I chose to numb myself to feeling any emotions of romantic affection. Every part of my brain would stop me anytime I would start having feelings for a guy, because of that pain."

Claire paused, taking a deep breath. She looked across the table at Kai, who looked over at her tearfully, biting his lip. "There's a saying out there that says: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' There are multiple instances in my life where that saying rings true. However, this instance is not one of them. My life wasn't ruined. I'm still a fully functioning woman who has found fruitful relationships within my family and the friends that I have made. I'm very fortunate to not have been born with a physical or mental disability. I have had plenty of wonderful experiences in my life, and I am fortunate to have been raised by good and loving parents. I'm fortunate to have had the opportunity to grow up in a wonderful, small town. And, I'm very blessed to have not grown up in destitute poverty. But, despite my life not having been ruined, that does not mean that my life had not been forever changed and marked by your own actions, Kai," she said in a tone of finality. "There are many different lessons or emotions you could take away from this. You could be angry at me, blaming me for creating this colossal situation. You could just refute my own words and pretend I don't know anything. Or, you could finally own up and face your own mistakes head on, realizing that means taking on the emotional pain you yourself will have to live through upon seeing the hurt you have brought unto others. The choice is entirely up to you. However, if you'd like my opinion, I'd highly suggest the third option. Who knows? You might gain a lot of respect from people for it," Claire finally finished, standing up from her spot at the table in the shock. Without another glance at Kai, she stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Kai behind in a dumbfounded and contemplative state.


	20. The Defense

**A/N:** Hello pancakes and waffles! (I'm thinking of making that my new greeting, so let me know if you like that!) I'm beginning the…wait, no, it can't be! The TWENTIETH CHAPTER?! (A big fat 2 and a big fat 0 together: 20!) Well, it's taken me far too long to get this far into the story. Hoo boy, I couldn't be happier to get this far. If I'm honest, I have absolutely no idea where the story is going (or do I? 😉 ), but I'm doing my best to stick this one out until the end. I've actually been considering staring a YouTube channel as a way of communicating with you guys (in theory) more often. It also could allow me to engage with readers and followers who are interested in my content and the projects I'm working on. I don't know, I'd definitely stay away from starting off with a face reveal for personal reasons, but if you guys are interested, I'll consider it.

Anyway, that was a long introduction. Please enjoy!

!

After her talk with Kai, all of the life slowly began to reenter Claire. It took a couple of days for her to get back to her normal energy (both physical and emotional), but when she was finally "herself" again, she appeared to display more energy and zest than before. She eagerly tended to the farm to the best of her ability, and it became quite apparent to the town that if she hadn't been putting her heart and soul into the farm, she was now. Claire had taken to working so hard, in fact, that people from the town started to go to the farm to check up on her every day as a precaution for her health. However, each and every time she would only smile and reassure the concerned individual that she was perfectly fine and happy.

Soon after this rather welcome and strange change, the news somehow got out about Rick and Claire's previous relationship and Kai's role in the whole affair. Claire had never uttered a word about the situation to anyone, nor did Kai. While the culprit managed to remain anonymous, the town did not take kindly to this news. Everyone was too polite to kick him out (and in part because everyone was reasonable), but the few people that came to Kai's shack suddenly stopped appearing altogether.

For Kai, this had turned into what he believed to be his worst nightmare. He couldn't deny that he had it coming to him, at least in regard to how the town reacted to his actions (even if they were pretty harsh considering it wasn't a life or death situation). However, he relied heavily on his earnings to stay afloat in his rather nomadic lifestyle. The loss in business was not appreciated.

Claire, despite the small amount of animosity she felt toward Kai for what he did, ultimately took the high road and did her best to defend Kai. Her reasoning was that they were judging him on the person he was back then and not the person he was now. But, most of the town was convinced that he hadn't changed at all between the nine year interval. Finally, Claire took action.

Everyday after she finished all of her chores, she would go to the shack on the beach, making absolute certain that everyone saw her conducting business with the person that was supposed to have hurt her badly many years ago. It was a rather high risk for Claire, as she was putting her own likability and popularity in the balance to defend someone who in reality probably didn't deserve any defense. But Claire wasn't about to watch someone's life be ruined on her own account.

On one of her walks to the beach after having visited the shack for 6 straight days, a figure jogged up to walk alongside Claire. Claire ignored the individual, keeping her determined gaze straight forward.

"Hey, Claire, I think you should think about what you are doing," Rick said to her quietly as a few of the townsfolk stopped walking to watch her go by in the direction of the beach.

"Oh really, now?" She said sarcastically, finally looking over at him in a glare.

"Do you really know what you are doing, though? I mean, you know you're tanking your reputation, right? People are beginning to think something is up between you two," Rick told her with annoyance in his tone.

"And this concerns everyone else, how? Trust me, I'm not romantically involved with Kai in any shape or form, nor do I wish to be, ever. If people would not be so nosy and keep their nose out of my business, then we wouldn't have this problem."

"I trust you; I don't trust your judgement," Rick told her simply. He stopped in the middle of the plaza as she continued to walk to the beach. "Claire, please stop. Claire!" He shouted, running after her and grabbing her arm. Claire spun around, stopping and yanking her arm out of Rick's hand in an irritated huff. Manna, Sarah, and Anna all turned to look at the two, as they had congregated for their usual afternoon gossip session. "Why are you doing this? He emotionally destroyed you, and you're defending him? He's a piece of—"

"Don't call him that! I won't pretend Kai didn't do something despicable. I won't pretend that I wasn't forever changed for the worse by Kai's actions. But, has it _ever_ occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, he has changed? Has it? And don't you dare kid yourself into thinking he hasn't! If you have changed over the nine years we've been apart, then you better believe Kai has changed just as much if not more! And, on top of that, don't you trust your sister's judgement? Do you think she would really fall in love with some playboy who's just looking for a damsel in distress? Popuri wouldn't. She knows what Kai did and how wrong it was. I've talked to her about it. But she is one of the ONLY ADULTS HERE APPARENTLY, CAUSE SHE UNDERSTANDS THAT PEOPLE CHANGE AND NOT EVERYONE IS A ROCK THAT REMAINS FROZEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIVER! She doesn't see him as an object but as an actual human who has his own emotions and worries! Oh, and on top of that, did you every try and ask him why he did it? Because I'm more than 100% certain you never did! I mean, if I were in the same situation, I would have probably not asked either—THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT! You pretend that you know who Kai IS, but you only know who he WAS! You two were best friends! You stuck with each other through the good and the bad! He was loyal to you, and he did everything for you! Yes, what he did was misguided but he truly believed he was protecting you, mostly! And yes, it was an absolutely atrocious thing to do, as I've said before! But if you took an actual gosh darned moment to talk to him you would understand why, even if it doesn't excuse his actions! Did you know that he was adopted? I hope that's news to you, because you better ask him what happened to his biological parents!" Claire shouted at him in a waterfall of words. They all tumbled out of her mouth in venomous bites that all struck Rick deep in the heart. As Claire was shouting, other townsfolk began to congregate in the plaza to figure out what the commotion was about.

"Kai WAS a misguided person who was _your_ best friend! He is a person who has become better, even if he has more room to grow! Kai is NOT a bad person; if he was I would not be doing THIS! If I didn't think he would try to become a better person, I WOULDN'T BE DOING THIS! His life is being torn apart because of something he did in his past! And while _I_ can do something about it, I will make certain that he isn't destroyed because of a mistake!" Claire finally finished shouting, tears streaming down her cheeks. Rick stood dumbfounded at the extended outburst from Claire, along with the rest of the town. Popuri stood on the side, tears welling up in her eyes. She made brief eye contact with Claire, mouthing a quick word of gratitude about the situation.

Claire looked around, suddenly aware that the entire town was watching. She quickly swiped at her cheeks and spun around on her heels to walk toward the beach, this time not being interfered with by Rick. It was upon arriving at the steps that Claire saw Kai standing at the bottom, teary eyed. It was then that she realized that Kai had heard the entire speech. However, being a stubborn woman, she didn't allow herself to dwell on that and haughtily stocked across the beach and made her grand entrance into the shack.

!

The rest of the day, the town talked about what had occurred in the plaza with dumbfounded and surprised reactions. Everyone began interrogating Rick to figure out what had been said beforehand, despite his protests about not feeling like doing so. Luckily, Popuri managed to get everyone to lay off after a few shouts to "stop interrogating" her brother.

That night, Rick didn't come down for dinner, which wasn't unexpected due to the events that occurred. Rick remained upstairs in his room, thinking deeply about the situation that occurred. He was more shocked than anything that Claire would defend Kai at all. That was the last thing he thought he would ever see. Yet, somehow, deep down, Rick wondered if what some of what Claire said held a grain of truth in it. Was it true that Kai was adopted? If it was, Rick felt some guilt for never having inquired enough about Kai's personal life to find out. Most importantly of all: was someone like him really capable of such a drastic change?

Upon murmuring the question to himself, Rick realized how idiotic it sounded. Claire was right about the autonomy of humans; it appeared he had forgotten how much everyone else had the same complicated thoughts and feelings that he held. He found it far too easy to discount that at times, something he was just realizing.

Popuri knocked lightly on the door, though Rick didn't respond at all. She was glad he didn't, as she only had come up to bring up his dinner. Rick raised his head from the bed to see who it was. He gave a nod of thanks at seeing Popuri holding the dinner plate. She gave him a wry smile before carefully placing it on his nightstand, preparing to carefully steal herself out of the room.

"Sis…could you describe the Kai you see?" Rick asked suddenly. Popuri froze, having already half closed the door. She thought for a moment before opening it again and sitting on her bed, turning on the light in the process.

"Well…hm," she muttered in thought.

"Don't say what you think will please me. I want you to be completely honest," Rick told her, finally sitting up on his bed.

"Alright. Well, the Kai that I see is a Kai that deeply cares about everything that he does. Every single day, despite the lack of success in his business, he still works hard on trying to fix up the place and keep it ready for any people that might stop in. He's also generous. One day, a homeless man from Forget-Me-Not Valley wandered in, and Kai gave him a full, warm, free meal, despite how little money he has. He's kind. Do you remember that night we ate that exotic meal? That was Kai's cooking! Kai told me about all of the exotic foods he had eaten from his travels, and I asked him if it might help to cure Mom. He offered to cook some for us because of that. I still recall how Mom seemed to gain some of her youth back because of it! And, he's unapologetically himself. Kai's relationship at home…isn't the best. Claire is right about him being adopted, and there's a lot more to it, too," Popuri told Rick in a mix of dreaminess and sadness. "That, Rick, is the Kai that I see. It's not the entire picture, but I'd hope it'd be enough for you to understand him."

Rick looked away from his sister in a mix of emotions. It sounded like the Kai had thought he'd known many years ago. Was it genuine this time? Rick sighed. "Thanks, sis," he replied simply lying back in his bed. Popuri nodded, uncertainly getting up from her bed and walking out of the room uninterrupted. It was clear Rick had a lot to think about.


	21. The Truce and the Gift

**A/N:** Hello pancakes and waffles! So, I just finished chapter 20 and will be continuing on to chapter 21! I'm pretty excited, and as such I don't have much to say this time around. Enjoy!

!

Claire walked down the street the day after her rather loud speech. Again, she made a point of making certain people saw her as she walked to Kai's shack in the hopes that people would stop their nonsense. As she walked by the Poultry Farm, she saw Rick appear out from one of the coops. She sped up, hoping he wouldn't see her; however, he quickly began to run after her. Claire began to jog forward, hearing Rick's yells and pleas for her to slow down.

Reaching her boiling point, she whipped around to see Rick breathlessly catch up to her. The two stopped running as Claire, bordering on politeness, allowed Rick enough time to string together a coherent sentence.

"Wow, you are fast," he panted.

"What do you want?" Claire asked in a dry tone.

"I wanted to walk with you—"

"And do you think I'd allow that to happen? After how much you were trying to convince me to not do this yesterday?" Claire asked him incredulously.

"No, Claire, I'm not going to convince you out of it. If you'd allow me a moment to finish speaking, I was about to say that I wanted to partake in your…quest," he told her. Claire blinked before her mouth dropped open.

"Am I dreaming?"

"No, you aren't. I don't really want to talk about it right now, as I might change my mind. But I wanted to come with you to go to Kai's shack, Claire."

Claire remained unmoving, still shocked at this sudden shift from Rick.

"So, are we gonna go or not? I've gotta take care of the chickens, you know," Rick told her impatiently. Claire bit her lower lip before beginning to resuming her walk with Rick by her said. Some of the townsfolk watched in surprise at the two walking together in relative harmony; however, the pair didn't notice.

They continued to walk down the street, through the plaza, and into the beach area, where Kai stood. He leaned against the outside of the shack, waiting for Claire. Upon seeing Rick with her, though, he immediately pushed away from it and stiffened up. A small crowd of people followed Rick and Claire up to the point of the steps where they stopped to watch them enter the shack.

The two of them finally reached the Snack Shack, where Kai awkwardly gestured for them to enter. Claire gave a small smile before entering, and after some hesitation Rick entered through the doorway, to the shock of the observing audience.

"Wow, you really drew in a crowd this time," Kai observed as he began to whip up some pineapple punch for the three of them. "And—uh—welcome back, Rick," Kai said, throwing a glance at the boy. Rick didn't know how to act, though he managed a quick nod of acknowledgement. Claire didn't say anything, uncertain as to how she could reduce the awkwardness between the two boys.

Claire took a moment to study the both of them individually as they avoided eye contact with one another. If they were ever to mend things with one another, then they would need some time alone.

"Excuse me, Kai? Could I go into the back for a minute?" Claire asked, breaking the silence. Both Rick and Kai looked over at her with startled expressions.

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess," Kai said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks!" She said, hopping off of the stool in the shack and rushing into the back. Claire quickly closed the door, immediately leaning against it so she could eavesdrop on the two boys.

At first, the two continued their silent charade, seemingly ignoring one another's existence. However, finally, Kai broke the silence.

"Um, so, Rick, how are you doing?" He asked with that uncertain tone in his voice. Claire heard a quiet shuffle from the other side of the door before Rick spoke.

"Oh, I'm…alright, I guess," he replied with reluctance.

"…So…um…I guess I need to ask the obvious question: what in the Harvest Goddess' name are you doing here? I figured you'd be the last person to ever walk into here, seeing as you've shown a particular disdain for me."

A moment of silence passed as Claire assumed Rick was thinking things over. "Claire can be quite…persuasive at times. I don't want you to assume that my being here is a sign of forgiveness," he stated clearly. A cough of understanding could be heard from Kai. "But…for now, I think I'd like to call for a truce," Rick continued slowly, obviously in deep thought. "It's not easy being angry all the time, and I've realized that it's only led me to make some rather brash decisions. Like I said, I haven't forgiven you. I still think we have a lot to discuss before that ever happens, but I'd like to think that we could at least be civil toward each other."

"I'd like to point out that on my end, other than sending that letter, I've always been the one who has been civil toward you," Kai responded dryly.

"Well, you have a way of instigating frustration from people," Rick retorted lightly. Claire could hear a cluck from Kai as refuted the point internally. "Whatever your thoughts are on that, it doesn't matter. What's important is this: do we have a deal?"

Claire held her breath as she heard nothing on the other side of the door. Finally, the soft clap of hands caused her to swing the door open to see Rick and Kai shaking hands.

Never did Claire think she would see the day that this would happen. But, she knew her eyes were not deceiving her; she was, in fact, seeing Rick become civil toward what once was his worst enemy, now turned acquaintance.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Kai asked, turning to look at Claire. She only flipped her hair and feigned innocence.

"Don't give me so much credit for being an evil mastermind Kai, it's not like you." Kai grinned at her words wryly, obviously grateful for her part in coaxing Rick to call a truce.

"Well, it looks like everyone has gone," Rick observed, taking a close look out the window. "We should probably get going, since I've got some stuff to do, and I'm certain you have some chores as well, Claire."

"Yes. I've gotta go and look after some of the chickens. It was nice seeing you, Kai," Claire waved as she walked out of the shack with Rick. Upon Rick shutting the door, she immediately ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"WAH! What was that Claire?" He shouted in surprise.

"I know this might be a bit dramatic, but thank you for doing this," Claire said in gratitude. "I know it's hard to put your own anger aside, but I'm proud of you for doing so."

Rick rubbed the back of his nervously, similar to Kai, blushing slightly. "It's not that big of a deal, but thanks all the same."

At that, Claire gave him a wide smile before waving goodbye and jogging back to her farm, leaving Rick behind to watch her longingly.

!

"Ah, Claire. It's good that I found you. I have a letter for you," Harris said to Claire. Claire turned around in surprise, as she normally was inside taking care of the animals when Harris did his rounds, so she was unaccustomed to seeing him in the morning.

"Oh, thank you, Harris!" She said politely, grabbing the letter in his hand. Claire glanced at the sender to see it was from her brother. Her face flushed as she realized she hadn't written to him in a while. She quickly put the letter in her pocket and began to go about her morning chores, albeit a bit more quickly than usual so she could read the letter.

With a sigh, she wiped her forehead, plopping into the chair that sat at the table her newly upgraded house. She quickly fumbled to open the letter, and soon enough she splayed it out before her to read it.

 _Dear Claire,_

 _Well, since you haven't written back in a while, I just sent this letter to check up on you and send you some updates about some of the goings on in Forget-Me-Not._

 _So, to the surprise of everyone in the town, Muffy and Griffin got married, despite them being old in age. I'm pretty happy for the two of them, as I always thought they'd make a nice match. Their wedding was scheduled to be in a couple days, so by the time you get this letter it may have happened already._

 _For other news, the kids are doing great. Mark Jr. misses you and sends you lots of hugs and kisses. He seems to really like life on the farm. Since he's old enough, we've given him the responsibility of feeding the chickens, which he seems to enjoy immensely. Actually, Lumina and I have been talking about which one will inherit the farm. Of course, we can't make any decisions yet since Chelsea is so young, and we can't know if Mark Jr. would want to inherit the farm once he's older. However, I know realize the hardship that Mom and Dad must have gone through in choosing who would. It's a really difficult decision. I know that you have your own farm now and all, but I wanted to say that because I thought it might be a comfort to you, if you still haven't come to peace with that yet._

 _And finally, Dad is doing well. He misses you and sends his love as well. He actually talked to me about coming up to see you sometime soon. I think all of us would love to do that, if you're alright with it? Obviously, we'll have to work out who would take care of the farm while we're gone, since Takakura couldn't take care of it all on his own. We'll eagerly await your thoughts on whether we could come or not._

 _With lots of love from your favorite brother,_

 _Mark_

Claire grinned upon finishing the letter, folding it up and putting it in her spot in the bookshelf dedicated to all of the letters that Mark had sent. She quickly pulled out some paper and a pen to begin writing her own.

 _Dear Mark,_

 _Tell congratulations to Griffin and Muffy for me! I'm really happy for them both to have finally found love. Truly, they're both sweeties!_

 _Send my love to Lumina, Chelsea, Mark Jr., and Dad for me! I do miss you guys a lot! And, as for having you guys come and visit me: of course, you can come! I'd love to have you guys stay on the farm with me, but unfortunately, I don't think there'll be enough space or beds for everyone to sleep comfortably. Especially since you have a newborn, you should consider staying at the inn. Anyway, I'll excitedly await for a date that you guys can come!_

 _With much love,_

 _Claire_

Claire shuffled around her home and managed to find an envelope, where she quickly tucked the letter inside and went outside to take it to Harris to deliver. However, as Claire passed by her mailbox, she noticed a letter sticking out of it.

Curious, she pulled it out and unfolded it quickly to see that the letter was from Rick. "Hm, that really is curious. I wonder what he wants?" She opened the letter to read it quickly.

 _Dear Clair,_

 _I sent you this letter as I have something for you at my home. Please come whenever you have the time._

 _From,_

 _Rick_

With raised eyebrows, Claire tucked the letter into her back pocket and began the trek to the Poultry Farm. She arrived fairly quickly, entering the shop to see that Rick was sitting at the table.

"Oh, Claire, there you are! I'm glad you could come!" Rick greeted excitedly. Claire smiled in greeting, walking up to the table. "I know you're busy, but I have something that I thought you might find useful. I was cleaning out the upstairs and I found my father's old watch," he explained to her, holding up the watch with the blue wrist band. "It's a treasured possession of mine, actually. Since it was my father's, I often am reminded of him when I look at it."

"Where is he, exactly? I haven't seen him around anywhere since I arrived here," Claire observed quietly. Rick's expression dampened at the inquiry, causing Claire to feel guilty for asking the question.

"He left us to go look for a plant that could cure my mother. He read about it in a book somewhere. Since it's so rare, there are very few accounts of where it could be," he explained to Claire quietly, becoming distant. He shook his head, snapping back to reality. "I'm sorry if I bored you with my story."

Claire rapidly shook her head. "No, not at all! I'm sorry for asking. I had no idea about your father leaving."

Rick nodded and held out the watch to her. "I want you to have the watch. After all, as a farmer it's nice to have one to keep the time."

Claire felt reluctant to accept. However, upon looking at the pleading look in Rick's eyes, she blushed and nodded. He gestured for her to reach out her arm, and she did so. Rick gently placed the watch on her wrist and carefully threaded the hook to keep it in place. He looked up at her upon finishing, the two of them locking eyes with one another.

Time suddenly appeared to stop existing altogether as the two became lost in one another's eyes. Claire quickly realized that the two of them were standing very close to one another, enough so that she could feel their breath becoming synced with the other's.

And then…without warning, she felt herself begin to lean forward at the same time Rick began to as well. Closer and closer and closer…

"Rick!" Popuri yelled from upstairs. Claire and Rick froze as their lips were about half an inch apart. The two of them blushed in embarrassment as they quickly stepped away from one another as Popuri rushed down the stairs. "Can you please help me move the stuff in the attic?! I've been calling you for the last 10 minutes!" Popuri yelled at him, obviously livid.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you!" Rick called back in frustration. "I'm so sorry, Claire," Rick told her with sincerity. Claire shook her head, keeping her gaze down slightly as to not show her disappointment. After quickly looking back at Claire, Rick hurried up the stairs as to not infuriate his sister further, leaving Claire downstairs to dream about what could have been.


End file.
